UConn's Geno Auriemma drops blunt response to major factor in dominant win over Dawn Staley's South Carolina

The UConn Huskies dominated South Carolina 87-58 in February, a loss that later impacted the Gamecocks’ overall seeding in the NCAA Tournament. UConn coach Geno Auriemma talked about a key reason behind his team’s dominant performance over Dawn Staley’s team that day.

On ESPN’s "Bracketology" show, which was posted on YouTube on Tuesday, Auriemma was straightforward when asked about the victory.

“The hardest thing to do is what we did great,” he said (Timestamp: 4:03). “We made every shot we took. I think South Carolina made three 3-pointers, and we made 13, so that’s a 30-point difference right there. And how often does that happen?”

Auriemma, the winningest coach in college basketball history, also defended South Carolina, saying that the Gamecocks had little chance given how well UConn played that night.

“When a team plays like that against you, sometimes it doesn’t matter what you do. It’s hard to win,” he said (Timestamp: 4:32). “If we get into a game where the other team outscores us by that many points from the 3-point line because they just get hot and make everything, you're going to have a hard time winning that game”

NCAA selection committee chair Derita Dawkins said on Selection Sunday that the loss was one of the reasons South Carolina was not the overall No. 1 seed for March Madness.

"Two key factors between UCLA and South Carolina. One was the head-to-head matchup (a 77-62 UCLA win in December)," Dawkins said. "The other was one of our criteria, which is competitiveness in losses. South Carolina suffered a 29-point loss to UConn. Those were the two key differences in those résumés."

No. 2 seed UConn to begin March Madness journey against Arkansas

The Huskies were placed as the No. 2 seed in the Spokane 4 Region in what will be their 36th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.

This will be the seventh time that UConn was seeded No. 2, and it has won an NCAAA-record 11 national championships.

Auriemma’s team will tip off their NCAA Tournament run against No. 15-seed Arkansas on Saturday afternoon at home in Gampel Pavilion.