UConn’s Auriemma is just six wins away from the most in NCAA history
With a 73-53 win over the Creighton Bluejays on Monday, UConn Huskies women’s basketball head coach Geno Auriemma has become the second-most winningest coach across Division 1 men or women’s basketball. Monday marked Auriemma’s 1,203rd victory, pushing him past former Duke men’s basketball head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Who is Auriemma trailing in all-time wins?
The most wins as a coach in D1 college basketball history belongs to Stanford women’s basketball head coach Tara VanDerveer. VanDerveer is an active coach and has been coaching for 44 years, compared to Auriemma’s 38.
Auriemma holds a higher winning percentage (.882) than VanDerveer (.819), but still falls six wins shy of VanDerveer’s 1,209 career wins. Each of them has more than 100 wins greater than third-place among all-time women’s basketball coaches, former Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt (1,098).
Can Auriemma catch VanDerveer?
Yes, but not this season. Auriemma would need seven more wins than VanDerveer throughout the rest of the season, and there isn’t much season left. Futhermore, even if there was a ton of season left, Stanford is one of the best teams in the country this season at 23-3. They currently rank third in the Coaches Poll. UConn, as great as they are, is still 14th.
All that said, Auriemma, 69, does have a better winning percentage, so theoretically, as long as Auriemma does not retire before VanDerveer, 70, he should eventually catch her. Perhaps that’s asking too much though.
Auriemma does have more national titles (11) than VanDerveer (3). In fact, Auriemma earned more national titles in a four-year stretch (2013-2016) than VanDerveer has in her career. That’s an astounding stretch of dominance. Still, Auriemma will have to wait at least another year before he takes the wins crown from VanDerveer.
UConn’s 2024 national title odds:
As of Feb. 12, 2024, the Huskies are tied for the fourth-best odds to win the women’s national championship, according to BetMGM. The Huskies are tied with the UCLA Bruins at +1200 odds. The Stanford Cardinal are tied for sixth with Colorado at +1600.
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