Geno Auriemma just won a Sweet 16 game by 21 points. And his biggest concern walking out of the arena had nothing to do with his own team. The Sweet 16 is supposed to showcase the best of college basketball, but according to Geno Auriemma, what fans got instead was something far worse.

“I’m going to read you some numbers,” Geno Auriemma said, as he proceeded to read out. “4-20, 4-22, 1-17, 5-18, 4-16, 7-26. That’s the three-point shooting yesterday across the country.” As he pointed out, the Sweet 16 shooting numbers across the country were well below par, “b**ls**t,” as he bluntly described it. And for him, this is not a good look for a stage that’s supposed to represent the very best of college basketball. As he puts it, “How many arenas are we going to sell out with that bullshit?”

For Geno Auriemma, this is not just a bad shooting night for everyone; it’s a growing problem. According to him, these poor outputs came from “teams that averaged probably 30 or over 30 for the season.” And in his view, the cause of this isn’t much of a mystery either. He, in fact, already has his finger pointed at the culprit.

That finger points directly at the media schedules and practice windows that have now become a burden on coaches and their teams. “Notre Dame has media this morning, their practice time is tonight at 5:30. What did you have to ask them this morning that you didn’t ask them last night? Auriemma asked, directing his question to the press.” That, in fact, also applies to his very own team, who, according to him, have practice scheduled for 6:30 p.m., but had to get the team up and come over for media. But then, can’t get on the court for practice until the scheduled time.

Perhaps the most frustrating thing for Geno Auriemma is that these abnormal schedules are imposed without any input from the coaches or players they directly affect. Asking the press again, he said, “Do you guys do this during the regular season? Is this normal?”

From his question, it appears that this intense, uncomfortable media schedule only occurs during the NCAA tournament. If that is the case, perhaps the next valid question that every college basketball fan should be asking is: Is the NCAA sacrificing performance for publicity? Because Geno Auriemma seems to think so, and his reasoning is hard to ignore.

UConn Coach Geno Auriemma Questions NCAA Format Among Other Concerns

Apart from the inconvenient media schedule, Geno Auriemma has also expressed concerns about several other issues in this season’s NCAA tournament. The UConn head coach aimed for the NCAA’s double-regional format. He openly questioned the logic behind reducing the tournament from four sites to two. “Why did they go from four to two?” he asked. “What was the rationale?” For Auriemma, it’s not just about structure; it’s about whether the system is actually helping the game grow.

Beyond scheduling and structure, Geno Auriemma raised issues with the game environment itself. Specifically, he’s concerned about the new rims and basketballs introduced during the tournament. According to him, these changes are subtle but significantly affect performance. As he puts it, “They just break out these new baskets, and new rims… You bounce the ball, and it goes up to the ceiling. There’s just no concept of how basketball is played.”

Geno believes that all these minor details affect the game’s overall quality. And like a domino effect, it affects the interest it commands. As he pointed out, the total combined attendance at the two games, between UConn and UNC and between Vanderbilt and Notre Dame, was just 18,821.

For a coach with over 1,200 career wins and multiple national titles, these are beyond just excuses and complaints. As he made clear, it’s about a broader concern. And he’s sure other coaches share the same level of frustration.