BLOOMINGTON | Indiana coach Tom Crean says he has apologized to Michigan assistant Jeff Meyer for their heated exchange after Sunday's game.
Crean said during the Big Ten coaches conference call Monday that he apologized to Meyer over the phone on the way to the plane afterward. He said he wishes he had "never addressed anything after the heat of battle in a game, but I did and we move on. End of story."
The incident happened on the court after the Hoosiers beat the Wolverines 72-71 for the Big Ten title. Indianapolis TV station WRTV showed Crean being restrained as he yelled at Meyer: "You know what you did. You helped wreck the program. You helped wreck our program."
Crean was hired by Indiana in 2008 and inherited a program burdened by NCAA sanctions for violations under former coach Kelvin Sampson. Meyer served on Sampson's staff but was cleared of any major violations.
Michigan coach John Beilein said he did not see the confrontation as it happened. He saw video of it on Monday morning and said Meyer "showed great poise" and called him "a great coach" who has helped rebuild the program "brick by brick, side by side, with me."
He also said, "Michigan is always going to win with class and they're going to lose with class. We're never going to use victory or defeat to vent ... any frustrations we're going to have."
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