“The effort’s been really, really bad…I’m shocked we’re winning”: Geno Auriemma doesn’t hold back despite UConn’s blowout of Holy Cross.

Image credits: IMAGN (left), Getty (right)

Geno Auriemma’s UConn Huskies led by six points at halftime against the Holy Cross Crusaders on Tuesday. Despite the lead, the coach was unimpressed by his roster’s slow start. The second Huskies connected on only four shots in the first quarter. The roster added nine more buckets before the break, making it a 13-for-30 shooting endeavor.

With that, Auriemma questioned his team’s upper hand in the game. He expressed amazement at UConn’s lead while suggesting that the wrong Crusaders should be ahead at the half.

“I would say the effort’s been really, really bad,” Auriemma said in a halftime interview. “And I would say we’ve been less than aggressive on offense. You start settling for threes too soon. So, between that and allowing them to be patient and run the clock and not being disruptive.”

“So, I would say I’m shocked we’re winning. I think the wrong team’s ahead at halftime.”

Nevertheless, No. 2 UConn (7-0) pulled away for an 88-52 rout, outscoring Holy Cross (4-4) by 55-25 in the second half.

The Huskies mounted a 17-7 run to open the second half to get things going and shot 11 of 18 for a 57-39 lead before the fourth quarter. UConn continued to control the momentum of the game in the 10 minutes, producing 31 points and holding Holy Cross to just 13 for an 88-52 win.

Despite the win, Geno Auriemma demands more maturity from the Huskies

The Connecticut Huskies’ 55 second-half points outscored Holy Cross’ game total of 52. They made 21 of their 32 field goal attempts 65.6% in the stretch while holding the Crusaders to just 11 makes on 28 attempts (39.2%).

While Geno Auriemma praised his team’s ability to bounce back, he underlined the underlying issue around maturity and ability to balance their approach throughout the game.

“I thought our effort was much better in the second half,” Geno Auriemma said. “Obviously, it showed because we got a lot more opportunities. We are very immature team, has been the case for most of our games. So, for us to sustain something for four quarters, we are gonna have to be a lot better at that.”

Geno Auriemma’s squad is up for a tough set of games in December. UConn will face four ranked teams across the next 15 days (the No. 22 Louisville Cardinals, the No. 10 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, the No. 20 Iowa State Cyclones and the No. 6 USC Trojans).