UConn coach Geno Auriemma and Tennessee's Pat Summit have never been real fans of each other. And it's gotten worse in the past year.
The two stopped playing each other after last season because of off-the-court conflicts, which was a shame, since their rivalry was one of the biggest factors in the growth in popularity of women's basketball.
Now, the NCAA is investigating UConn for giving an illegal "benefit" to UConn (giving then recruit Maya Moore a full access tour of ESPN). On Jim Rome's show this week, he asked Summit if Tennessee was responsible for tipping off the NCAA and she tap-danced around the question without really answering.
When asked outright by Rome what she thought of Auriemma's statement that he "hates Pat Summit" the Tennessee coach laughed and answered "we don't get along but I'm not saying why. Geno knows, and I'll leave it at that."
The upshot? It's very possible that like it or not, the two coaches will face off in the NCAA Tournament since the Huskies are ranked No. 1 and Tennesse comes in at No. 3. And the battle continues.
-- Don Bowman
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