"One of them is in their feelings": Analyst hints at tension between Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma over missed NCAA showdown

For over a decade, Geno Auriemma's UConn Huskies and Dawn Staley's South Carolina Gamecocks have been engaged in intense regular-season matchups despite not being in the same conference. Fans were hoping for the same next season, but the Huskies-Gamecocks anticipated clash won't happen.

On Friday, Maggie Vanoni and Carl Adamec of the CT Insider reported that the two teams won't face other during the 2025-26 regular season, ending an 11-year streak.

Analysts Mark Zanetto and Tee Baker weighed in on The Hoops Cap Pod regarding the cancellation of the UConn-South Carolina game and discussed the possible reasons behind it.

"I think they can talk — Geno and Dawn can talk about how they're both from (Philadelphia), and they both razz each other and stuff like that. But they're both from Philly, so they're both sensitive too," Zanetto said (from 23:47). "What that means to me is that they're both in their feelings about — or one of them is in their feelings about — what happened last year."

Geno Auriemma and the UConn Huskies came out on top against Dawn Staley's squad last season in both the regular season and the championship game. UConn beat South Carolina 82-59 in the final.

Zanetto also addressed Auriemma's comment on A'ja Wilson getting a statue for her success in South Carolina in April.

"And smart money is probably on Dawn, because she definitely is probably in her feelings. They had their little spout ... maybe that was insensitive on Geno's part, because there are other factors that went into the statues that were built for both A'ja Wilson and Dawn. I get all that. "I think the bigger basketball issue with this is that it's a major blow to women's basketball. It kind of pisses me off, because it's kind of a joke that the two most iconic teams of this era aren't going to play — in particular because there’s no reason why they shouldn’t be playing.

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Geno Auriemma halted South Carolina's series streak in 2025

Geno Auriemma took back control of the UConn-South Carolina series after winning the two matchups this year. While the Huskies coach is in a comfortable lead in the head-to-head record, Dawn Staley had the upper hand in the past few years.

Before their clash in February, UConn were winless against the Gamecocks in four years. It included a loss to South Carolina in the 2022 national championship game.

This year, though, Geno Auriemma and the Huskies put an end to the Gamecocks' undefeated run in the regular season and followed it up with a dominant victory in the NCAA title game.

Dawn Staley, Geno Auriemma, or Kim Mulkey - who is NCAAW's highest-paid coach? Find out here

Edited by Bhargav