Syracuse men's basketball coach Jim Boeheim dismissed two reports of an NCAA investigation into his program Wednesday on the eve of his team's second-round NCAA tournament game against Montana.
Citing people with knowledge of the case, CBSSports.com and The Post-Standard of Syracuse, N.Y., said the NCAA investigation involved major violations.
Boeheim, at a news conference at HP Pavilion, declined to respond to the story in any specific way and struck a lighthearted tone when asked about it.
"It's the same story as last year," he said. "I guess it's an annual thing. Maybe we'll have it again next year."
Syracuse acknowledged an NCAA inquiry last year into possible violations of its drug policy that were reported by Yahoo Sports.
The Orange were distracted as last year's NCAA tournament began by an eligibility issue with starting center Fab Melo, who was declared ineligible and did not play. Syracuse advanced to the Elite Eight before losing in a regional final to Ohio State.
Boeheim said he wasn't bothered by the timing of Wednesday's reports.
"No, not at all," he said. "We're concerned about playing Montana. There are no distractions for me. There are no distractions for our players."
Comparing this situation to last year's ineligibility ruling on Melo, he said, "Last year was an absence, not a distraction, and they handled it as well as they could."
The Orange are seeded No. 4 in the East Regional.
Boeheim, 68, has been at Syracuse for 50 years -- as a student, as an assistant coach and for the last 37 years as the head coach -- and is one of three Division I men's coaches with more than 900 victories, along with Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and current ESPN analyst Bob Knight.
Boeheim won a national title in 2003 and lost national title games in 1996 and 1987. He has also lost three first-round games since 1999, including to Vermont in 2005.
Syracuse was a fixture in the national polls this season and advanced to the final of the Big East tournament, where it fell to Louisville after blowing a 16-point lead in the second half.
The Orange are scheduled to begin play in the Atlantic Coast Conference next season, but there has been speculation Boeheim will retire before that happens.
Boeheim stoked the talk after a 61-39 loss to Georgetown on March 9.
After being asked if he would miss the Big East Conference, Boeheim said, "Well, you know, I'm pretty much ready to go play golf somewhere.
"If I was 40 years old, I'd be real upset. I'm not 40 years old. That should be obvious, though."
