News about Geno Auriemma

LeBron James was one of many people left upset by the late foul call that almost ended UConn's hopes of qualifying for the NCAA Championship game on Friday night. With just under four seconds remaining in their Final Four match against Iowa, UConn forward Aaliyah Edwards was called for a game-deciding play after appearing to block Hawkeyes No. 24 Gabbie Marshall. The Huskies were furious over the tense offensive foul call, which aided Iowa over the line and into the Championship game against South Carolina.

She'll now attend the college she always aspired to attend, but no one expressed genuine interest in her. After knocking off LSU on Monday night, Iowa native Caitlin Clark earned a spot in the Final Four in Cleveland. In a game for the right to qualify for the national championship tournament, she'll face three-seed UConn.

The Connecticut basketball player and former Naismith Player of the Year Paige Bueckers is back in Storrs for a fifth season, and legendary coach Geno Auriemma wants to be there too. Aubrey Griffin, a fifth-year senior, has also announced that she will be back in 2024-25. Bueckers made the announcement during senior night festivities at Gampel Pavilion on Friday night following the team's 85-44 victory over Georgetown on Friday night.

ESPN has signed a $920 million, eight-year media rights contract with the NCAA that protects 40 championships, including international rights to the 'March Madness' college basketball tournament and domestic rights to the women's tournament. According to the NCAA, the agreement has an annual average worth of $115 million, which more than triples the amount ESPN paid to the organization each year under the previous 14-year deal. The deal deepens ESPN's commitment to college sports, which has been a staple of the network's history dating back to 1979. The new NCAA contract includes domestic rights to 21 women's and 19 men's championship games, as well as the high-profile women's basketball championship game, which attracted 9.9 million viewers last year. It also includes coverage of the collegiate men's and women's tennis championships as well as the collegiate men's gymnastics championships.

Dawn Staley, the South Carolina coach, has questioned how her team's style is defined, blaming Iowa coach Lisa Bluder for claiming that returning against the Gamecocks was like 'going to a bar fight.' Bluder said there was no ill intention in the remarks made three days before her team's 77-73 victory in the semifinals at the Final Four, a day after the Hawkeyes ended the undefeated defending national champion's bid for a repeat. In the news conference setting up the Hawkeyes' match against LSU in the national championship game on Sunday, Bluder said, "there was absolutely no ill intention."

Following UConn coach Geno Auriemma's critical remarks two days earlier, South Carolina coach Dawn Staley defended her top-ranked Gamecocks on Tuesday. Auriemma said after the top-ranked Gamecocks' 81-77 victory that Huskies guard/forward Lou Lopez Senechal had bruises on her body from the game. It's just appalling what teams do now,' he said. No longer basketball.'It's not basketball anymore.' I'm not sure what it is, but it isn't basketball.'