It's not a battle of Big East blood rival titans anymore. It's just a couple of struggling teams still trying to find themselves.

But it's still UConn-Syracuse, Monday night, Madison Square Garden. And that's still special.

Had a good (if brief) phone chat with Jim Boeheim today. He didn't want to get too much into UConn, since Syracuse plays North Florida (common opponent!) on Saturday. But here's what he did share:

Boeheim's last (and final?) visit to the XL Center came on Feb. 13, 2013 - a 66-58 loss to UConn. It was the last time the teams would ever meet as Big East rivals.

Boeheim was asked about the end of the rivalry and gave some interesting insight. But not before calling ESPN reporter Andy Katz an "idiot" and a "disloyal person" for reasons, at the time, that were unknown.

The two have apparently cleared the air since then. Still, it was a classic case of Boeheim bullying a reporter.

Kevin Ollie has signed a new five-year contract worth $2.8 million per year, with incentives that could push it up to $3 million per year, according to ESPN's Andy Katz.

Here's the most interesting part: according to sources, Ollie has separate buyout clauses that differentiate between taking another college job and an NBA job. If Ollie takes another college job, he would owe UConn more than if he were to land an NBA job.

This is pretty unique.

Of course, it's also hard to imagine Ollie leaving UConn to coach at any other school. But it's obvious that the NBA is still a possibility, no matter how far down the road.

Jim Calhoun did an in-game interview with Andy Katz on Thursday night in which he seemed to insinuate he'd consider getting back into coaching at some point. Apparently, it created quite a stir on Twitter and message boards, but after talking to Calhoun this evening, there doesn't seem much to it all.

Here's how Calhoun described the Katz interview:

“Andy asked me if I was going to get back into coaching, I said, ‘No, I don’t think anyway possible.’ He said, ‘What are you doing here?’ I like to follow the ball. As long as I can keep hearing it bounce, I’m going to keep following it. He said something to the effect of, ‘What about Larry Brown?’ I said, ‘He’s my hero, he’s three years older, maybe I’ll follow him. Maybe I’ll be his assistant next year.’ He said, ‘So you definitely will coach?’ I said, ‘No.’ ‘You definitely won’t coach?’ I said, ‘If something great came along.’ Anything in life’s possible, I told him.”

“It was a 22-point game … I got some phone calls, and it was kind of funny.”

Calhoun said he's had some opportunities to coach at the international level, but really nothing too intriguing has been presented to him since his retirement 18 months ago. He's offered advice to friends and colleagues in the business, most recently Steve Pikiell, whose Stony Brook squad plays a big game on Saturday.

“With all that said, the only thing I know right now is that I miss the game. A lot of the other stuff I really don’t miss.”

Like recruiting?

"I know coaches like to sit and complain about that. Some of the things that happened, you don’t like. But recruiting itself? I love that. I think we were pretty good at getting good players. We got good players long before we should have got good players.”

How about practices?

“That was like my 2 ½ hours at Mass. You could do a lot more at practice. I love practice. I love the kids. I don’t mind traveling to games … Bottom line is, right now, watching Kevin’s team I’m proud as hell."

Then, as only Jim Calhoun can do, he added a little something that keeps the door open -- just a little -- to him coaching again one day.

“The good thing is, I’m a free agent. And yet, I have a lot of things in my life that I’ll continue to do, but I’d be foolish to say to anybody, ‘You don’t miss the game?’ I miss it terribly. It’s been my whole life. Of course you’re going to miss it.”

Andy Katz of ESPN is reporting that UConn will open against Boston College in the 2K Sports Classic at Madison Square Garden in November.

That would mark the first time UConn plays the Eagles since BC left the Big East in 2005 (UConn holds a 54-35 all-time edge). But it doesn't figure to be the last time the teams meet on the hardwood.

According to multiple sources, UConn and BC have been in discussions about meeting in non-conference games in coming years. Warde Manuel and new BC athletic director Brad Bates both know each other from their Mid-American Conference days (Manuel at Buffalo, Bates at Miami of Ohio), and there have been conversations about the Huskies and Eagles meeting not only in men's hoops but in football, as well (though basketball seems more likely to happen at this point).

And there's also this: a source at UConn has indicated that the Huskies have had some casual talks with Kansas, not next season but perhaps a year or two after that.

The last time I posted video of Jim Boeheim on this blog, he was calling Andy Katz a disloyal idiot.

This time, Boeheim more or less blasts the APR guidelines that are keeping UConn out of the postseason, calling them "ridiculous."

While I don't agree with everything Boeheim says here -- UConn did have blame in not making sure players were in good academic standing before leaving -- I agree with his general premise, that the rules are a bit silly and that UConn should be allowed to play in the Big East tournament.

Here's what Boeheim had to say after I asked him if there was something missing with UConn not being at the Garden this week:

“It’s unfortunate, because I think the whole (APR) thing is ridiculous,” he said. “The whole thing — guys leaving, they just leave, the coach can’t control it, all of a sudden the school gets punished. That wasn’t the purpose of that legislation when it went in. It’s been adapted to that, and I just don’t think it’s the right thing.”

Here's the video of Jim Boeheim berating ESPN's Andy Katz, then talking about the UConn-Syracuse rivalry:



And here's Boeheim's explanation as to why he went off on Katz Wednesday night.

*** Anyway, quite a win for UConn on Wednesday in its final meeting with Syracuse as dual members of the Big East. Maybe the Huskies' best win since the national title victory in 2011? Here are the three best quotes of the night:

Shabazz Napier:

“Coach Blaney always tells me don’t ever throw an alley-oop to a white guy. A lot of people don’t realize it, but Niels has by far the best athleticism on the team. He does a lot of things that guys never see because he doesn’t have the opportulnity.”

Kevin Ollie:

“They can ban us from the postseason, they can ban us from the Big East tournament, but they can’t ban us from getting better and loving each other. That’s one thing I can say about this team: they really love being around each other. And it shows.”

Omar Calhoun:

"They've got to leave with the taste of UConn in their mouth (going) to the ACC."

And let's not forget the good play of Phil Nolan, thrust into 14 minutes of action with Enosch Wolf suspended and contributing five rebounds, a resounding blocked shot and some strong defensive play: