Legendary UConn coach Geno Auriemma isn’t thrilled with the schedule this week. And he didn’t hold back in expressing his displeasure.
Friday the Sooners and Huskies had to be at the arena early in Spokane, Washington, with OU’s press conferences starting just after 8 a.m. while the Huskies practiced at that time.
The early start can be attributed to the “super regional” format with two regionals played in both Spokane and Birmingham, Alabama.
After hosting games at four locations, the NCAA moved to two regional sites for the women’s tournament in 2023. The women’s March Madness event will have two regional sites through 2028: Fort Worth, Texas, and Sacramento, California, next year; Philadelphia and Las Vegas in 2027; and Portland, Oregon, and Washington, D.C. in 2028.
Auriemma didn’t hold back his frustrations, especially considering both UConn and OU had to play Monday to advance to Spokane. Their game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET Saturday.
“The guys, who don’t know (expletive) about (expletive), according to a lot of basketball people, they finish Sunday and then they have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and they play Saturday,” Auriemma said. “But there’s a lot of people in the women’s basketball community that think they’re smarter than that. So whoever came up with this super regional stuff — and I know who they are — ruined the game.
‘They did. They ruined the game. Half the country has no chance to get to a game in person. But you’re making billions off of TV. Well, actually they’re not, that would be the men’s tournament. So yeah, there’s a lot of uses that they need to fix. And again, we could get our ass beat tomorrow and that won’t change my feelings.”
The Huskies have traveled a lot to the West coast the last two years. They were a No. 2 seed in Seattle in 2023, falling to Ohio State in the Sweet 16, and were a No. 3 seed in Portland last season, when they beat USC to advance to the Final Four in Cleveland.
The Spokane 1 regional games will be held Friday and Sunday, while Spokane 4 contests will take place Saturday and Monday, bringing four consecutive days of games at Spokane Arena.
If the Huskies win Saturday, they would have to play Monday night in the regional final. Then if they punch their ticket to the Final Four in Tampa, they will fly cross-country with two days of practice.
The national semifinal and championship games had long been held on Sunday and Tuesday, respectively, until switching to a Friday/Sunday schedule starting in 2017.
Super regional schedule
Friday, March 28
No. 1 South Carolina vs. No. 4 Maryland | 5 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
No. 2 NC State vs. No. 3 LSU | 7:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
No. 1 UCLA vs. No. 5 Ole Miss | 10 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Saturday, March 29
No. 2 TCU vs. No. 3 Notre Dame | 1 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)
No. 1 Texas vs. No. 5 Tennessee | 3:30 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)
No. 2 UConn vs. No. 3 Oklahoma | 5:30 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
No. 1 USC vs. No. 5 Kansas State | 8 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Sunday, March 30
Winner of No. 1 South Carolina/No. 4 Maryland vs. No. 2 Duke/No. 3 North Carolina | 1 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)
Winner of No. 1 UCLA/No. 5 Ole Miss vs. No. 2 NC State/No. 3 LSU | 3 p.m. | ABC (Fubo)
Monday, March 31
Winner of No. 1 Texas/No. 5 Tennessee vs. No. 2 TCU/No. 3 Notre Dame | 7 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)
Winner of No. 1 USC/No. 5 Kansas State vs. No. 2 UConn/No. 3 Oklahoma | 9 p.m. | ESPN (Fubo)