UConn women's basketball head coach Geno Auriemma has officially passed former Duke men's coach Mike Krzyzewski as No. 2 in the all-time wins list. The achievement happened after the Huskies picked up a 73-53 win against Creighton on Monday.
The top two winningest coaches are in women's basketball as Auriemma now only trails Stanford's Tara VanDerveer, who passed Krzyzewski in January. As of Feb. 19, VanDerveer has 1,209 career wins and Auriemma just reached No. 1,203.
Auriemma has led the program to six undefeated seasons and 11 national championships, the most in NCAA basketball history. With Monday's result, UConn also secured at least a share of the Big East regular season title for the 11th consecutive season.
These are all huge achievements that deserve recognition, but it is that time of the season in which the Huskies, including the coaching staff, are trying to just stay focused on the bigger goal.
"Am I reflecting on my great career and basking in all the adulation that I get? Didn't I look like that on the sideline?" Auriemma joked during the postgame interview when asked about how he thinks of the achievements as they happen. "I think earlier in my career as things were happening that were very significant, they impacted me a lot more. It's strange to say that but maybe the volume of things that have happened, how many, I just ... take it in stride."
The coach admitted that sometimes coaches become "so fixated on winning" and the things they have to fix with their team that they don't think about how many wins they have. It doesn't mean they aren't important achievements, but he will celebrate after the season is over because right now it's all about the team.
"I'm sure there'll be a time, this summer or next summer or whenever it is, when you think back and it'll really have a huge impact on you," he added.
The Bluejays had entered the matchup with an 11-game winning streak and even found a five-point lead early in the third quarter. However, the Huskies found their rhythm and went on a 17-0 run to start pulling away.
The 20-point victory was possible thanks to four UConn players scoring in double figures. Paige Bueckers put up 24 points by shooting 50% from the field, while Aaliyah Edwards added 20 points. Ashlynn Shade got 15 points and was just one rebound shy of a double-double. Nika Mühl had 11 points and a team-high seven assists.
While Auriemma hasn't been dwelling on his own achievements, he said that because of all the setbacks the program has seen in the last few years -- mainly in the form of injuries -- the individual wins do feel different than before.
"It was never easy. But we made it look so easy for so long that you almost forget," he said.
"The passion and the wanting to win and the energy that goes into it, the feeling like this before every game, it's the same as it was in the 80s, but I just think it means a little more now. It's like when you have it all and somebody takes it away from you. When you get it back, you tend to appreciate it more," he added.
UConn improved to 23-5 overall and a perfect 15-0 in the Big East. Next up, the Huskies will hit the road to take on DePaul on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 6 p.m. ET.
