Geno Auriemma made a blow on the NCAA tournament system while he was preparing the Uconn Huskies for their Sweet 16 Match against the Oklahoma Sooners.
The women’s basketball tournament moved to two regional sites in 2023, which means that this season, the semi-finals and regional finals will take place in Birmingham, Alabama or Spokane, Washington.
Eight teams are piled up in each regional site.
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Uconn Huskies’ head coach Geno Auriemma, look at the touch while taking the southern Dakota Jackrabbits at the Harry A. Gampel pavilion in Storrs, Conn., March 24, 2025. (Images David Butler II / Imagn)
The Final Four Female culminates in Tampa, Florida, next month.
Auriemma expressed its disdain for the two regional ones at a press conference, saying that “it ruined the game”.
“Half of the country has no chance of arriving in a person match. But you make billions of television. Well, in fact, you are not. It would be the male tournament,” he said, via ESPN. “So, yes, there are a lot of problems they have to solve. And again, we could get our – beat tomorrow and that will not change my feelings.”
Auriemma added that “in a normal world, led by normal people, there are only four teams here.”
“There are a lot of people in the women’s basketball community who think they are smarter than [how they run things in men’s basketball]. “”
The former North Carolina star, Tyler Hansbrough
Auriemma underlined the team’s travel calendar.
The guard of Uconn Paige Bueckers, center, goes to the basket while the state -of -the -art guardian of the southern Dakota, Madison Mathiowetz, on the left, defends himself during the second half of a second round match in the NCAA tournament on March 24, 2025, in Storrs, Conn. (AP photo / Jessica Hill)
The Huskies wrapped their home schedule at the Gampel pavilion on Monday in Storrs, Connecticut. The team then had to fly to Spokane, Washington, for the next tournament round. If the team wins in the Spokane Regional, it flies for Tampa.
Due to the number of teams, Auriemma said that his team will have to wake up at 5 a.m.
The Auriemma team was used to strange travel situations.
Last year, the team went from games to Storrs to play in Portland, Oregon, Regional, then in the Final Four Female in Cleveland. In 2023, the team went from Storrs to Seattle before losing in the regional semi-finals.
Uconn head coach Geno Auriemma made gestures during the second half against the state of southern Dakota in the second round of the NCAA tournament on Monday, March 24, 2025 in Storrs, Conn. (AP photo / Jessica Hill)
Uconn is the seeded n ° 2 of this tournament, and the Oklahoma is the seeded n ° 3. The teams are turning on Saturday at 5.30 pm.
