Well, it's something. After the officials blew a goaltending call in overtime in UConn's game against Marquette last week -- one the Huskies would go on to lose -- the league has formally apologized to coach Kevin Ollie.
Earlier this week, the first-year UConn coach said that Big East commissioner Mike Aresco and the coordinator for men's basketball officiating Art Hyland both offered mea culpas for the blown call that cost the Huskies' two points against Marquette.
Not surprisingly, Ollie's moved on.
“It’s over with,” he said via TheDay.com. “Satisfied or not, it doesn’t make a difference. I talked to the commissioner (Mike Aresco) and talked with the head of officials (Art Hyland), and they apologized. I accept their apology.
“We move on," he continued. "Things happen. Hopefully, we learned from it and our guys learned from the situation.”
Moving on entails preparing for UConn's next Big East opponent: the usually punchless DePaul Blue Demons come to Gampel Pavilion Tuesday at 7 p.m. Except this time, they're much improved and and are looking to be something other than a glorified homecoming opponent.
“It’s a good, talented team and we’re going to have to come and play,” Ollie said. “They’re feeling really good about themselves and they should be happy with their performance so far.”
That includes a 10-5 record, and 4-0 on the road with wins over Providence, Arizona St., Chicago St. and Auburn. In fact, the Blue Demons need just three more wins to top last year's total. DePaul's only Big East loss came against Seton Hall, 73-72.
“They really should be 2-0,” guard Ryan Boatright said. “I feel like they’re a better team than last year. We’ve just got to come and compete and don’t take them lightly.”
It's been a recurring theme this season but Ollie continues to stress the importance of winning the battle of the boards.
“If you’re not rebounding, you’re not playing…,” he said. “Hopefully, they understand the message. I can’t say we’ve got a set pattern because if you’re not getting rebounds, you’re coming out. If you’re not playing hard, you’re coming out.”
