Days before facing Dawn Staley’s South Carolina, Geno Auriemma knew UConn was winning the NCAA title after UCLA game

After 1,250 victories and 12 national championship, it’s understandable if Geno Auriemma has an ability to forsee victory. After all, Auriemma, as the architect of the UConn women’s basketball dynasty, has had plenty of opportunities. So maybe it’s not entirely surprising for him to admit to forseeing title No. 12.

But on an interview on ESPN’s Sportscenter, Auriemma admitted exactly that. Asked when he knew his team would win the NCAA Tournament title, he first cracked, “With about 1:30 left in Sunday’s [championship] game.” But after a beat, Auriemma admitted the inside story.

Fortune Teller Geno Auriemma Foresaw Title

“I mean, obviously, there’s signs. Halfway through the UCLA [semifinal] game, we all got a sense of ‘Wow, we could be really, really good… in two days. If we can replicate this, it could be pretty amazing’…. That UCLA game is the one that really made me think, ‘I don’t think anything can happen Sunday that’s going to derail this.’ — Geno Auriemma.

The UCLA thumping and an historic Final Four

UConn pulled an unusual Final Four feat in destroying a pair of top-seeded Final Four opponents in a more impressive manner than the Huskies had shown early in the Tournament.

For instance, UConn won its Sweet 16 game over Oklahoma 82-59. That ended up being the exact same score as the national title game win over South Carolina. The Huskies slid past JuJu Watkins-less USC 78-64 in the Elite Eight. But they turned around and crushed UCLA in the Final Four.

The 85-51 win set a new Final Four record for the largest margin of victory. Not surprisingly, that prior record was also held by UConn with a 33-point win over Louisville in the 2013 NCAA title game.

By winning the two Final Four games by a combined 57 points, UConn nearly bested another of its old records, a 60 point combined Final Four spread in 2016.

UConn blasted a UCLA team by 34 points that had only lost two games (both to USC) all season. The Huskies shot 55% in that game, held UCLA to 39% shooting and forced 18 Bruin turnovers. The Huskies set the scoring margin record despite using bench players for 59 of the 200 total minutes played.

It’s also worth noting that All-American center Lauren Betts had a fine game against UConn, scoring 26 points on 11-for-18 shooting. Betts also had just one turnover. But it’s humbling to note that the rest of the UCLA team collectively shot 9-for-34 and actually scored fewer points than Betts alone.

What do you think of Auriemma’s premonition of a championship? Share your take on the UConn boss below in our comments section!

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Joe is a journalist who covers college and professional sports, particularly basketball, football, and baseball. He has written or co-written over a dozen sports books, including several regional best sellers. A member of the Society for American Baseball Research, Joe has been a guest on MLB Network, the Paul Finebaum Show, and numerous other television and radio programs. He has been inside MLB dugouts, covered bowl games and conference tournaments, and most importantly, still loves telling the stories of sports’ movers and shakers.

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