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Geno Auriemma Explains UConn Not Cutting Down Nets After Elite Eight Win vs USC

UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma addressed his reason for no longer cutting down nets when advancing to the NCAA Tournament Final Four.

Grant Young

Mar 29, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma directs his team against against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half of a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena. at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images
Mar 29, 2025; Spokane, WA, USA; UConn Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma directs his team against against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half of a Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament basketball game at Spokane Arena. at Spokane Arena. Mandatory Credit: James Snook-Imagn Images / James Snook-Imagn Images

The UConn Huskies women's basketball team advanced to their 16th NCAA Tournament Final Four in the past 17 seasons on March 31, after their 78-64 victory over the USC Trojans.

This sustained success is unprecedented not just in college basketball but in all of collegiate athletics, and is yet another testament to what legendary Huskies head coach Geno Auriemma has accomplished in his iconic career that includes 11 national championships.

For most programs in the nation, it's customary that they cut down the nets of the court they played on after advancing to the Final Four. However, UConn didn't do this after beating USC on Monday. And Auriemma had the perfect response when asked why after the game.

"I don't even know when it was that we've done it," Auriemma said when a reporter suggested they hadn't cut down nets for making it to a Final Four since 2008. "I don't remember doing it, to be honest with you... We ask the players all the time, 'They bring out a ladder, you guys want to cut down nets?' And they always said no. So we never asked them anymore. We just didn't."

Auriemma was then asked whether he's saving the net-cutting down for Tampa, which is where the Final Four and NCAA Championship games are taking place.

"Yeah," Auriemma responded. "We've cut down a bunch of those."

While Auriemma has done a ton of national championship net cutting, he hasn't had the opportunity to since the 2016 season. He's hoping that will change on April 6.

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Grant Young
GRANT YOUNG

Grant Young covers Women’s Basketball, the New York Yankees, and the New York Mets for Sports Illustrated’s ‘On SI’ sites. He holds an MFA degree in creative writing from the University of San Francisco (USF), where he also graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and played on USF’s Division I baseball team for five years. However, he now prefers Angel Reese to Angels in the Outfield.

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