GREENSBORO, N.C. — UConn’s Geno Auriemma sounded more interested in getting his team ready to contend for a national championship than adding another coaching milestone to a Hall of Fame career.
Even on the night he tied the NCAA Division I record for coaching victories in men’s and women’s basketball.
The 70-year-old Auriemma earned his 1,216th win Friday night as his No. 2 Huskies beat No. 14 North Carolina 69-58. That matched Tara VanDerveer, who retired in April after 38 seasons at Stanford.
“I’m more of how do I put [the players] in position so they can feel like I feel, like I’ve been very fortunate to get a lot of things come my way,” Auriemma said. “And they came hoping to get some of those things. So I just keep the focus on that all the time. And whatever happens on my end happens.”
His record with the Huskies is 1,216-162, good for an 88.2% win percentage to go with 11 national championships — most recently in 2016. He can break the record Wednesday against Fairleigh Dickinson.
“It’s the reason you came to UConn, to play under him,” preseason All-American Paige Bueckers said. “So it’s been a dream come true, and we’re super proud of him. I know he doesn’t talk about himself too much, just a little bit.
“To be a part of this, it’s amazing, and it speaks to the longevity of what he’s built here at UConn — the history, the players, the success, the national championships. So it means everything to play for UConn and play for him.”
Tar Heels coach Courtney Banghart was quick to praise Auriemma, too. She told reporters Thursday about meeting with Auriemma as a graduate assistant coach at Dartmouth as part of her thesis on coaching leadership, a meeting that left an impression on Banghart as she mulled becoming a coach after her playing career.
Among the now-46-year-old Banghart’s takeaways: Auriemma’s authenticity is “a superpower.”
“He deserves his flowers,” she said, adding: “He lifts others up. He has brought people with him. So you’re talking to a Geno fan.”
Mike Krzyzewski, who retired in 2022, holds the record in men’s basketball with 1,202 victories at Army and Duke. Auriemma, VanDerveer and Krzyzewski are the only Division I coaches to reach the 1,200-win plateau, and Auriemma is the only one to spend his entire career at one school. VanDerveer coached at Idaho and Ohio State before Stanford.
Bueckers scored 29 points in the UConn win, including 16 in the first quarter. She made 12 of 21 shots from the field with four 3-pointers, four rebounds and four assists. It was her 10th 25-point game against an AP-ranked opponent, moving her past Breanna Stewart to rank No. 2 among UConn women’s players. Maya Moore leads the way with 19.
Huskies freshman Sarah Strong had 14 points, 13 rebounds and 6 assists.
Indya Nivar had 15 points and nine rebounds to lead the Tar Heels (3-1), who shot 36% from the field and made 7 of 24 3-pointers.
UNC trailed by 21 but clawed its way back to within striking range at 61-52 on Nivar’s layup with 7:03 left. The Tar Heels then had five straight empty possessions before UConn got a stick-back from Jana El Alfy and Bueckers got loose on a cut for a layup that pushed the margin back to 13 with 3:16 remaining.
UNC now has lost seven straight in the series, with its last win coming in January 2007.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
