UConn's Geno Auriemma melts down as South Carolina ends Huskies' perfect season

There will be no perfect season for the UConn women's basketball team. The Huskies' quest for an undefeated, championship season came to an emphatic end on Friday night in a 62-48 loss to South Carolina in the women's Final Four. This was always expected to be an incredibly intense game between the two most dominant programs in women's college basketball.  Even though it ended up being a shocking 14-point deficit on the scoreboard, it more than lived up to the hype in terms of the intensity, with UConn's Geno Auriemma taking out all of his frustration on South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley, the officials and anybody who would listen to him.  Auriemma's first meltdown happened during an in-game interview when he went off on the officials for, in his view, allowing Staley to dictate the way the game was called. At the center of Auriemma's frustration was the fact there were six fouls called in the third quarter of the game, with all of them going against UConn. He was especially irked that Sarah Strong had her jersey ripped with no foul call. Be aware there is some inappropriate language in his interview.  Geno Auriemma was not happy with the officiating after the third quarter:"There were six fouls called that quarter, all of them against us, and they've been beating the s--t out of our guys down there the entire game." pic.twitter.com/U1EhYfK3Rl He also pointed out that Staley "rants and raves" at officials during games, calling them names "you don't want to hear."  South Carolina shot 22 foul shots in the game to UConn's six.  As the final seconds of the game were ticking away and the two coaching staffs were going to shake hands, Auriemma had his second meltdown when he appeared to say something to Staley that started a heated verbal exchange between the two coaches. Geno Auriemma exchanged words with Dawn Staley in the final seconds of South Carolina and UConn’s Final Four matchup. pic.twitter.com/S6anlPKqwe These are two of the most successful coaches in the history of college basketball (men's or women's), and their programs have combined for 15 of the national championships going back to 1995, with UConn winning 12 of them. Auriemma and Staley have been the head coaches for all of them. Given that history, seeing two giants of the sport having this sort of interaction is stunning, and it certainly adds another layer to the rivalry. Auriemma may have had a valid complaint with some of the calls and the foul-shot disparity in this game. But he also did not do himself any favors in the court of public opinion for the postgame interaction or for seemingly making excuses during the game.  Both teams entered Friday's semifinal as No. 1 seeds, with UConn owning a 38-0 record coming into the game.  Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on X @AGretz Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!