40 years+ in college coaching, Geno Auriemma no longer surprised by March Madness seeding: "You kinda put two and two together"

UConn coach Geno Auriemma has seen it all when it comes to March Madness seeding. The Huskies are No. 2 this year, which might come as a surprise to some, but not the veteran coach.

The USC Trojans were awarded the final 1-seed in the Spokane regional 4, sending UConn to the second slot. The Huskies rank first in NET, while USC ranks sixth.

Additionally, UConn won both the Big East regular-season and tournament championships, whereas JuJu Watkins' Trojans lost in the Big Ten Tournament final. So many expected Connecticut to nab the 1-seed in Spokane.

Following the Selection Sunday, SNY TV spoke with Auriemma about his team's seeding.

"I thought it was great," Auriemma said (via an X post from SNY). "I don't think there's any surprises that pop up in these brackets.

"You kind of put two and two together, and you start to realize that there's only so many teams that they can put in certain places. And then after you see one bracket, you can start to do process of elimination."

Geno Auriemma further noted that no tournament bracket is easier or harder than another and that teams must simply go where they are told and play who they are told to play.

For four decades, Auriemma has navigated the ins and outs of NCAA Tournament seeding, so these developments no longer shock the venerable coach.

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What drives Geno Auriemma to continue coaching after 40 years?

Geno Auriemma has accomplished everything there's to accomplish in college basketball. He has led the UConn Huskies to 11 national championships — the most of any Division I women's program, which also includes six undefeated seasons.

Besides, Auriemma is the winningest coach in the division, with a career record of 1,244 wins. Despite achieving such remarkable success, the Hall of Fame coach shows no signs of slowing down.

"I never set out to be doing this, period, and certainly never set out to be here for forty years. To answer that question: I don't know. I don't know," Geno Auriemma told Blake Toppmeyer of USA Today when asked what keeps him going.

"I enjoy what I’m doing, to a point. I enjoy the competition. I enjoy the preparation that goes into it ... I would say the things that keep me going are that I still find some satisfaction in what I’m doing. That's probably the biggest thing for me."

Auriemma signed a five-year contract extension last summer, so he should be there for at least a few more years.