College basketball: Geno Auriemma passes Mike Krzyzewski as second-winningest coach

Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Geno Auriemma is now the second-winningest coach in men's or women's college basketball, after passing Mike Krzyzewski for the honor through a 75-53 UConn win over Creighton.

Redshirt junior guard Paige Bueckers scored a game-high 24 points in the triumph Monday at the XL Center in Hartford, Conn. Senior forward Aaliyah Edwards chipped in 20 points and eight rebounds. Freshman guard Ashlynn Shade logged 15 points and nine rebounds.

"You're so fixated on winning the next game," Auriemma told reporters. "I think earlier in my career, to be honest with you, as things were happening that were very significant, they impacted me a lot more.

"It's strange to say that, but maybe the volume of things that have happened, how many. I just kinda take it in stride."

Auriemma, who started at UConn in 1985, recorded his 1,203rd victory, one more than Krzyzewski earned between his tenures at Duke (1,129) and Army (73).

The longtime Huskies coach trails only Stanford's Tara VanDerveer on the all-time wins list, for men's or women's basketball. VanDerveer, who passed Krzyzewski in January to become the winningest coach in history, is six wins ahead of Auriemma.

Auriemma, 69, owns a record 11 national titles. The nine-time Coach of the Year has won 88.2% of his games with the Huskies.

VanDerveer, 70, led the Cardinal to three titles. She won 81.9% of the games she coached since starting her career in 1978 at Idaho.

Krzyzewski, 77, won 76% of his games before retiring as Duke coach in 2022. He led the Blue Devils to five national titles.

"I'm sure there will be a time, this summer or next summer, whenever it is, where you look back and it'll have a huge impact on you," Auriemma said. "But I really try not to dwell on it mostly."

Auriemma told reporters earlier this month that he has no plans to retire.

The Huskies outshot the Bluejays 40.9% to 30.6% in Monday's win. They also hit 38.1% of their 3-pointers, compared to the Bluejays' 20% clip from distance. The Huskies outscored the Bluejays 30-10 in the paint and 12-3 off turnovers. The game was tied seven times and featured seven lead changes.

The No. 15 Huskies (23-5) will face DePaul (12-16) at 6 p.m. EST Sunday in Chicago. The No. 21 Bluejays (21-4) will host Villanova (16-9) at noon Saturday in Omaha.