Geno Auriemma to miss UConn’s game vs. Seton Hall on Wednesday with illness

UConn women’s basketball will be without head coach Geno Auriemma for a second consecutive game. On Tuesday, the team announced that the 68-year old will miss the Huskies’ game against Seton Hall on Wednesday due to illness. Associate head coach Chris Dailey will lead the team in the interim.

“There’s been a lot going on in the last couple weeks, and I think it caught up to me physically,” Auriemma said in a release. “I’ve been feeling under the weather for about 10 days now, and my doctor recommended I take a few days off to fully recover. CD and the coaching staff will continue to do a phenomenal job in my absence, and I look forward to returning to the team in a few days.”

Auriemma also missed UConn’s win over Florida State on Sunday after coming down with flu-like symptoms prior to the game. The team medical staff has advised him to take time off through the weekend to recuperate.

It’s been a difficult couple of weeks for Auriemma. On Thursday, Dec. 15, his mother, Marsiela, passed away. Auriemma coached the Huskies to a win over Princeton that same night and remained on the sidelines for a loss to Maryland the following Sunday.

“You can’t discount the fact that it’s been a heck of a week, both from a planning standpoint and the number of games we’ve had and then to go through the emotion of losing his mom,” Dailey said about Auriemma’s illness postgame on Sunday. “So I’m sure it’s a combination of a lot of things.”

Dailey is 14-0 all-time as UConn’s acting head coach and half of those wins have come in the last five seasons alone. The Huskies will take on Seton Hall at the XL Center on Wednesday, Dec. 21. Tip-off is set for noon on SNY.