Geno Auriemma previews Big East Tournament: Recapping everything UConn HC said before Huskies face St John's

Geno Auriemma's top-seeded UConn will face No. 8-seeded St. John's in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals on Saturday. The game will tip off at noon ET from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

On Friday, Auriemma spoke to the media ahead of the Huskies' opening game of the conference tournament.

In response to the history of his team peaking at the right time for the conference tournament after the regular season, Geno Auriemma said:

"I think in the last couple of years, there's been a lot of emphasis or a lot of attention to the fact that we don't have a full roster." (TS-0:28)

"We're going into the tournament with only six players sometimes, it's going to be really really hard. Three games in three days, how are we gonna handle it? Then we go there last year, we lost Aaliyah [Edwards] halfway through the first game, how are we gonna handle it?"

"So there was never a time when we went out there feeling like, yeah, we got this, no problem. We gotta be really really good. We have no margin for error. I think that contributes a lot to it. I hope we can still maintain that kind of sense of urgency."(TS-1:24)

"I guess too, when you're used to winning, it kinda gives you some confidence going in, that, how many teams have won the biggest tournament in our league? Us."

Auriemma also said that he was glad to have a full roster available heading into this year's Big East Tournament, in comparison to his previous years.

"I would say, the fact that it was two-fold, really. Players feel they can go all out every possession knowing that they can give them a breather when needed, which is different than before, obviously."(TS-2:47)

"The second is, they also feel they have to be very efficient when they're out there. Because you're not gonna be able to go 0 for 10. I think those two things and we could do more things defensively than we could. So that's helped."

Geno Auriemma also discussed how his team has grown since the defeat against Tennessee last month.

"I think the biggest thing you can grow in is making better decisions," Auriemma said. I think we know each other a little better. Some of our players are moving better without the ball, which is really good."(TS-4:53)

"And I think when you shoot the ball really well, you look like a really, really good team. I mean, we see it internally. So, we're just a better team, better equipped to deal with what's coming next."

St. John's beat No. 9 seed Butler 66-50 on Friday in its first round of the Big East Tournament. The Huskies earned a first-round bye since they won the Big East regular season title.

However, Geno Auriemma's team will be in action on Saturday and is the favorite to beat St. John's.

Geno Auriemma named conference Coach of the Year for the 19th time

NCAA Womens Basketball: UConn HC Geno Auriemma - Source: Imagn

On Friday, Geno Auriemma was named the Big East Coach of the Year for the 2024-25 season. It was the 19th time that Auriemma was named as the Conference Coach of the Year.

Auriemma has been the coach at UConn since 1985 and has won 11 national titles so far. He won the AAC Coach of the Year six times when the Huskies were in the American Athletic Conference from 2013 to 2020. Auriemma is also a 13-time Big East Coach of the Year.