MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- The final buzzer sounded, the two coaches met at halfcourt and -- though I didn't see it with my own eyes -- that's when Dan Wolken of the Commercial Appeal swore he read Jim Boeheim's lips, and that the Syracuse coach told John Calipari that Memphis is "the worst shooting team" he's ever seen.

Naturally, I asked Boeheim to confirm.

"No, I didn't say that," he said. "I said they might be."

From the daily orange blog:

REPORT: Holtz turns down Syracuse job

Pirates Illustrated, a subsidiary of Rivals.com devoted to East Carolina, is reporting that Skip Holtz, currently the head coach at ECU, has turned down the Syracuse job. The entire story is available only to paid subscribers, but here is the link. WNCN, an NBC affiliate in North Carolina, is reporting the same information.

This comes just a few days after the NFL Network reported Holtz would officially sign with the Orange as soon as Monday. Syracuse Director of Athletics Daryl Gross reportedly met with Holtz in Monday and/or Tuesday at the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony and dinner in New York.

With Holtz no longer in the running, it appears Gross is down to three candidates: Turner Gill, Doug Marrone and Al Golden. Reports have surfaced recently that Gill was offered the head coaching spot at Auburn, but, as of now, he is still with Buffalo.

Holtz was seemingly Gross’ top candidate, and there was a lot of speculation he would officially be introduced as head coach today or tomorrow when they returned from New York.

Now, it’s on to “Plan B,” whatever that may be. Either way, there is little doubt Gross wants to act soon. The pickings are shrinking thinner and thinner.

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