Geno Auriemma meltdown called out by ESPN’s Andraya Carter, Chiney Ogwumike
Dawn Staley and the South Carolina women’s basketball team showed up in the Final Four and delivered an epic upset over the top-seeded UConn Huskies to advance to the national championship in the 2026 NCAA women’s basketball tournament . It was a hard-fought game, with the Gamecocks pulling away for a 62-48 win, outscoring UConn, 38-22, in the second half. While it was an epic game, there was a stunning moment in the final quarter where UConn head coach Geno Auriemma lost his cool and confronted Staley at midcourt, which led to a heated confrontation on the sideline.
WATCH: Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma have heated altercation in tense Final Four battle After the game, ESPN hosts Andraya Carter and Chiney Ogwumike sounded off on the incident, ripping Auriemma for his “problematic” and “hypocritical” actions. Andraya Carter and Chiney Ogwumike call out Geno Auriemma after UConn's loss to Dawn Staley and South Carolina in the NCAA Final Four pic. twitter.
com/MLyPol0MEq — ツ (@kidravi) April 4, 2026 “The truth is, is that what he did was extremely problematic, in my opinion. And it was a buildup of things being problematic, starting with Sarah Strong,” Ogwumike said. “He called out the fact that Sarah Strong’s jersey was torn, but she was actually doing it self-inflicted.
She was the one who tore it. And then I’ve never seen a circumstance in the middle of a quarter where you call out an opposing coach and just say that you’re frustrated and sort of looking that way, you know, leering over there. WATCH: Geno Auriemma crashes out during UConn’s Final Four shocker “That to me was another problem.
But last but not least, catching Dawn at the end of the game off guard and confronting her with the handshake, like all of this, because she didn’t shake your hand. Time and time again, we see Dawn Stately rise to the occasion, take the high road. And I do know he mentioned this double standard in some of his comments.