“I was praying for somebody to beat our a**”: When Geno Auriemma admitted being “miserable” after winning games with Napheesa Collier’s UConn

Geno Auriemma and Napheesa Collier made history together in the 2015-16 NCAA season when they helped the UConn Huskies win the national championship. Auriemma opened up about the burden of winning during a talk with author Brett Ledbetter in his "What Drives Winning" series, which premiered on YouTube on Feb. 19, 2018.

Ledbetter recalled Auriemma mentioning that he believed winning might have been what pushed the legendary UCLA coach John Wooden out of the game. Wooden led the Bruins to 10 NCAA titles, including seven championships in a row from 1967 to 1973, before retiring in 1975.

The longtime UConn coach then talked about his own experience with the Huskies during the 2016-17 NCAA season, which followed their undefeated championship run in the previous campaign.

"I would have done anything to lose in November and December, two, three, four, five times, I couldn't care less," Auriemma said (Timestamp 2:03). "I was praying for somebody to beat our a**."

"Praying to the point like in our very first game against Florida State, I’m sitting there, there’s like two minutes left and I’m like, we’re gonna lose, haha. You know, I was so happy that our players were going to experience something that some of them have never experienced in college."

UConn showed its championship experience that year, pulling off a 78-76 win over the Florida State Seminoles. Geno Auriemma shared his reaction to the Huskies recording a come-from-behind victory in their season opener:

"We won the damn game. I was really pissed. One of the kids, you know, Napheesa Collier, blocks a shot and wins the game at the end," Auriemma said.

Auriemma thought the losses would come for the Huskies, but they kept proving him wrong:

"They just dodged a bullet. Now we got Baylor in two days. We’re gonna get smoked. We go in and we beat their brains in because you know they helped us."

"I go, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll go to Notre Dame.’ And we beat them. And we just keep winning and winning. I go home and I am more miserable after every game because what else do I got to do to lose?"

UConn's 2016-17 season ends in disappointment for Geno Auriemma and Napheesa Collier

Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies continued their dominance in the 2016-17 NCAA season, reaching the Final Four undefeated for the second consecutive year. They finished the regular season with a perfect 29-0 record before beating Tulsa, UCF and South Florida in the AAC Tournament.

The Huskies stretched their unbeaten run in the 2017 NCAA Tournament, defeating Albany, Syracuse, UCLA and Oregon to qualify for the Final Four for the 10th straight year.

Mississippi State Bulldogs guard Morgan William (2) reacts after hitting the game-winning shot in overtime against the UConn Huskies in the semifinals of the 2017 NCAA Women's Final Four. Photo: Imagn

Unfortunately for Geno Auriemma, the loss that he had been waiting for early in the season arrived in UConn's national semifinal against Mississippi State. The Huskies lost to the Bulldogs 66-64 in overtime to snap their record 111-game winning streak.

Napheesa Collier scored 11 points for the Huskies in that game, which ended their winning streak when Morgan William hit a buzzer-beater for the Bulldogs in overtime.