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UConn readies for another game without Ryan Boatright

spt-120117-boatright

Mike Miller

UConn won’t have freshman guard Ryan Boatright for yet another game, but coach Jim Calhoun can’t worry about it right now. Not with a home game against Cincinnati tonight.

The Huskies (14-3) had been relying on Boatright, a 6-foot freshman guard, to boost their perimeter scoring and playmaking. No Husky is better at creating his own shot, though, like many freshmen, Boatright occasionally makes poor decisions.

Still, UConn managed to win at Notre Dame on Saturday without Boatright. The Bearcats (14-4) are a taller order – woulda been nice to have Boatright help chase around their four guards – but UConn has enough talent to win at home.

They’re also motivated.

“We just have to keep winning every game for him,” Andre Drummond told the Hartford Courant. “It’s tough seeing him on the bench in regular clothes, but it makes us want to go out and play harder, take out our frustration on the court.”

So what’s the issue? Boatright’s in the middle of an NCAA eligibility mess. He had missed the first six games of the season for an infraction related to accepting a plane ticket last year while playing AAU hoops. The latest reportedly relates to the same thing.

The school, in a statement, said the latest development “arises from additional information provided by the NCAA that pertains to conditions and events that predate the university’s relationship with Boatright.”

Now everyone has to wait until another situation is resolved.

“He was upset like anybody would be,” forward Alex Oriakhi told the Greenwich Times. “But there’s not much you can do about it. He just has to wait and see what happens.”

You also can follow me on Twitter @MikeMillerNBC.