Late in his half hour give and take with the media after Thursday's practice, UConn coach Geno Auriemma was asked for his take on the events which transpired in Lubbock, Tex. on Wednesday night when Baylor's highly-touted 6-foot-8 freshman Brittney Griner was ejected for punching Jordan Barncastle.

Griner, a leading candidate for national freshman of the year, was thrown out of the game and will be suspended for Baylor's next game since throwing a punch is a mandatory one-game suspension according to NCAA regulations.

"I was out recruiting so I didn't see it even when I did see it, all I did see was the scuffle and the punch," Auriemma said. "I didn't see the aftermath, I didn't hear what anybody said about it and I am sure people are going to weigh in 'what's this world coming to? Women fighting in basketball.' It is going to be the typical crap about 'they shouldn't do that, they shouldn't be like that.'

"Every school has their own way of dealing with those issues and every conference has their way of dealing with those things and the NCAA ultimately has a way of dealing with those things. As far as I know, the NCAA rule (on) fighting is you throw a punch, you are out the next game, what the school and the conference do beyond that, I don't know. I still don't know what precipitated it. I don't know what was going on between those two during the game but either way but obviously the kid lost her composure. Something happened and I am sure if you asked her now and said 'hey, Brittney what do you think about that?' She is probably devastated right now saying 'I can't believe I did that. I can't believe I put myself, my school, my basketball program, my family in that situation so in the heat of the moment ...'"

Not only is Auriemma the head coach of the six-time national champion UConn program but he is also the president of the Women's Basketball Coaches Association and also the head coach of the U.S. national team. As is his custom, he did not hold back in offering his opinion.

"People should be surprised it doesn't happen more often given the nature of the game," Auriemma said. "These kids are pretty disciplined and they restrain themselves pretty well not that it is asking a lot 'hey look, don't punch anybody.' Even saying that, there is some stuff that goes on during the game where you feel like punching somebody but you can't.

Auriemma didn't think there's much that could be done at the WBCA level to regulate something like fighting in basketball.

"What can you do about it?" Auriemma said. "Every coach talks to their players and says 'you can't do that.' Every coach says 'you can't leave the bench, don't be out there if something happens. There's not a coach in America who doesn't do that. Tina Charles the other night getting in the kid's face against Georgetown (forward Jaleesa Butler). We talk about that all the time 'Tina what are you thinking?' if you want to celebrate with one of your teammates, that is different."

Auriemma doesn't think the reaction or punishment should be any different if the events transpired in a men's game.

"I think it would be the same," Auriemma said. "Everybody would be like 'I can't believe a college kid punched another college kid in a basketball game.' The fact that it is a women's game, everybody is going to come out and weigh in on it from a sexist perspective not just college player punching another college player."