When No. 2 UConn battles Fairleigh Dickinson on Wednesday, legendary Huskies coach Geno Auriemma will have the opportunity to become the winningest coach in NCAA Division I basketball history.
UConn's 69-58 win over No. 16 North Carolina last Friday gave Auriemma his 1,216th win, putting him ahead of former Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski (1,202 wins) on the all-time wins list and tying him with Stanford icon Tara VanDerveer. Auriemma's .882 winning percentage is the highest of any coach with at least 10 seasons under their belt.
Barring a major collapse by the Huskies, Auriemma's win on Wednesday will be nearly 40 years in the making. After taking over the reins for UConn in 1985, Geno has won a record 11 national championships and has led the Huskies to six undefeated seasons.
With all these wins on his resume, it would seemingly be impossible to choose which one was the most impactful. But that didn't stop CBS Sports from trying. So, against our better judgment, we've decided to rank Geno Auriemma's most important wins as the UConn Huskies' coach.
No. 5: Win No. 1,216 over No. 16 North Carolina (Nov. 15, 2024)
This could definitely be attributed to recency bias. However, I challenge you to find a more significant regular-season win for any coach (aside from maybe UConn's pending win against Fairleigh Dickinson) that's more important than the one that etched their name at the top of the mountain.
For example: That one-legged fade-away in Denver wasn't the best shot LeBron James has ever taken. But it was definitely one of his most important buckets.
Using that logic, I can't help but put Geno's 1,216th win on the list.
No. 4: 2016 national title win over Syracuse (April 5, 2016)
UConn's 31-point win over Syracuse exemplified the Huskies' Reign of Terror that started after their loss in the 2008 Final Four. In the eight years since then, UConn recorded four undefeated seasons, including the 2015-16 season, and won six championships.
However, 2016 also marked the end to an incredible run for the Huskies. It was current WNBA superstar Breanna Stewart's last year in college and the last time the Huskies won a national championship. Since then, they've been to six Final Fours and one championship game.
Close, but no cigar.
No. 3: 2008 Elite 8 win over Rutgers (April 1, 2008)
After a dominant run through the late 1990s and into the early 2000s, UConn hit a rough patch by its illustrious standards. But Auriemma had an easy fix for this. He just went out and won a heated recruiting battle with then-rival Tennessee for the No. 1 player in the nation, Maya Moore.
Moore hit the ground running for the Huskies, averaging close to 18 points per game in her debut season and setting multiple freshmen records for the program. Her play helped bring UConn back into the college basketball spotlight and lift the team to the Elite 8.
However, this game against Rutgers speaks to a total team effort by the Huskies. After being down by double-digits, UConn rallied as a team to win the game by a score of 66-56. This advanced them to their first Final Four since Diana Taurasi departed for the WNBA in 2004.
No. 2: 2002 national title win over Tennessee (March 31, 2002)
Hello, World. Meet Diana Taurasi.
After winning the national championship in 1995 and 2000, it was becoming clear the Huskies were a force to be reckoned with. However, this game is significant because it helped introduce the world to a 6-foot guard from Glendale, Calif.
In the waning seconds of the game, instead of giving the ball to one of his proven, WNBA-bound stars, Geno elected to give Taurasi the rock. The sophomore would then hit an and-1 jumpshot over future WNBA first-round pick, Stacey Dales, to put the game out of reach.
This is often viewed as the moment Auriemma gave Taurasi the keys to the team. Together, they would win three NCAA championships.
No. 1: 1995 national title win over Tennessee (April 2, 1995)
In Geno Auriemma lore, this win is the "Granddaddy of them All." Not only is this his first NCAA title, but it also marks a "Passing of the Torch" moment for Auriemma and the Huskies.
Up to this point, Pat Summit and Tennessee women's basketball had been synonymous with success. But with this victory over the Volunteers, UConn inserted itself into that discussion.
And the Huskies did so in dominant fashion.
The 1995 national championship marked the first time in UConn history the team recorded an undefeated season, a feat that would become a trademark of Auriemma's tenure.