'Something's missing': UConn coach Geno Auriemma says there was 'a void' without Doug Bruno coaching DePaul

On Tuesday night, UConn head coach Geno Auriemma paid a visit to an old friend.

Auriemma wanted to pay a visit to his close friend and DePaul head coach Doug Bruno, who hasn't coached this season due to a health issue that arouse before the season began.

The legendary UConn head coach said he had a fun word for his friend, but they weren't words of comfort.

"I told him, I said, listen, I was secretly praying for Jill to beat us, just to stick to him one more time," Auriemma said. 

UConn came away with an 84-58 win over DePaul on Wednesday at Wintrust Arena. Bruno was present, but he wasn't coaching. 

Auriemma has coached against Bruno ever since DePaul became a member of the Big East in 2005 and again in 2019 when UConn became a member of the Big East again.

The fact Bruno wasn't coaching Wednesday stuck out to Auriemma.

"I talked to him about that aspect of it," he said. "It's always difficult when you're put in the situation the staff was put in."

Specifically, Auriemma said it felt like there was something missing from the game and on the court as Bruno's absence loomed large.

"It does feel like there's a void," Auriemma said. "There's going to come a time when people are going to look down the bench and neither of us are going to be there. That's a fact of life. That's just not the time right now."

Bruno has never gotten the better of Auriemma on the court.

DePaul is 0-20 all-time against the Huskies, but the two have dueled it out since UConn returned to the Big East. In the 2022 and 2023 seasons, DePaul lost one-score games against UConn.

The wins weren't there for DePaul. That doesn't mean the respect isn't there for Auriemma.

After the game, Auriemma made it clear the respect he has for the Blue Demons program runs much deeper than basketball.

"There's so much respect that I have for all the people here," Auriemma said. "They're like my second family away from UConn. It feels like something's missing, for sure." 

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