My apologies for going so long without a post today, but I just returned from watching Gonzaga play Tennessee here in Seattle -- the No. 11 Vols won, 82-72 -- and talking afterward to former coach Ray Giacoletti.

Of course, he's an assistant with Gonzaga now, and not exactly looking forward to the reunion with the Utes in Spokane on Monday.

Not that he doesn't want to see his former players; he said he's eager to say hello and wish them well. He's just weary of so many people hyping the game as some sort of revenge match-up -- something that's far from his mind.

"It's not about me and whoever," Giacoletti insisted. "It's about Gonzaga playing Utah."

The Utes have been saying the same thing, and Giacoletti -- as gracious and personable as he ever was, in the hallway outside the locker room after the game -- refused to complain about his firing, or the comments by new coach Jim Boylen about the "culture of mediocrity" that purportedly existed under Giacoletti. Took the high road, all the way.

"It's over," he said. "It's done."

We'll have a big feature on his view of the reunion and new life at Gonzaga in the newspaper on Sunday, so keep an eye out for that. Meanwhile, rest assured that the Zags are not nearly as good as they have been in some recent seasons. Of course, the Utes aren't nearly as athletic as the Volunteers, either, and have to play in a campus arena in which the Zags are 44-2 all-time ...