UConn's Geno Auriemma Calls Out NCAA March Madness Basketballs, Practice Schedule, More

Connecticut head coach Geno Auriemma offered a withering assessment of the conditions and logistics for the NCAA women's basketball tournament.

"I think they bring in new baskets, new basketballs right out of the box," he told reporters Saturday, per ESPN's Alexa Philippou. "Got people dribbling the ball off their feet. You got people missing layups all over the place. You bounce the ball, and it goes up to the ceiling. There's just no concept of how basketball is played."

Auriemma first addressed that critique in the immediate aftermath of UConn's 63-42 win over North Carolina in the Sweet 16. The teams combined to go 8-of-42 from beyond the arc and commit 34 turnovers.

The legendary coach also discussed the challenges that come when eight teams are playing in the same arena thanks to the two-site regional structure.

"Know what time our shootaround was yesterday? 6:20, I think, for half an hour," he said. "This morning I just saw Notre Dame leaving, so they had media this morning. Their practice time is tonight at 5:30. … You know what time our practice time is? 6:30 tonight."

Huskies star Azzi Fudd called the situation "less than ideal."

"The schedule, waking up early to do media and then can't come back to this arena until later, just little things like that," she said. "But everyone's trying to figure that out right now. Every team is going through that. There's no excuse in that. So we'll figure it out. We're making it work, but it definitely isn't the most ideal setup."

In August 2022, the NCAA announced it would stage the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds in just two cities for the women's tournament. The men's tourney, by contrast, has one site for each regional.

Lynn Holzman, the NCAA's vice president for women's basketball, confirmed to ESPN's Michael Voepel this month the two-site regionals aren't going anywhere and will remain in place through at least 2028.

The NCAA pointed to the fact that attendances for the regional rounds have climbed since the change.

Last year, Auriemma expressed the same concerns about the relative lack of court time his team had because it was sharing the arena with so many other programs. He quipped that it "takes us longer to get through security than to actually be on the court."

The 12-time national champion also pushed back on the potential benefits toward attendance because "half the country has no chance to get to a game in person."

It's also worth asking how much the two-site format is responsible for the boost in the first place.

The 2022-23 season is when Caitlin Clark truly became a household name a Iowa. Clark isn't the sole reason why the attention toward women's basketball spiked that year, but she played a big role. As the television ratings climbed toward record levels, it stands to reason attendance would've followed a similar trend regardless of whether two or four regional sites were used.

Unfortunately for Auriemma and anybody else who isn't a fan of the current regional setup, they'll have to keep putting up with it for another two years at a minimum.