Listening to Ole Miss coach Andy Kennedy talk about his team, it might be easy to overlook the fact that the Rebels are 7-1. Granted, Ole Miss hasn’t faced the toughest schedule — with the exception of UConn, Ole Miss has faced such heavyweights as Central Arkansas, Tennessee Tech and Nicholls State — but Kennedy sees lots of flaws.

First and foremost, the Rebels have exhibited a troubling habit of digging serious holes. They trailed Tennessee Tech by 10 in the second half … and won. They trailed Nicholls State by six at halftime … and won. They trailed New Orleans on Friday night by four at halftime … and won.
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I give a lot of credit to the Memphis coaching staff and the players for acknowledging that the Saturday victory over Manhattan was not quite the crisp performance they were looking for.

In fairness, it’s sometimes difficult to look good against a struggling team like Manhattan because the game gets pretty mucked up in the second half after the lead goes to 20 or 25. But you certainly don’t want bad habits to develop in a game where mistakes didn’t really have any consequence on the outcome.
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For what it’s worth, Ken Pomeroy, who runs a very interesting Web site with a lot of statistics and a very good RPI formula, has put up his first predictions of the season.

Using numbers from games that have already been played, Pomeroy predicts every NCAA basketball game for the rest of this season.

Pomeroy has the Tigers beating Tennessee next week, losing 86-85 at Arizona and losing 75-72 at Gonzaga.
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It was interesting to see five Tigers make all-conference after a 2-10 season.

Deep snapper Rusty Clayton obviously was deserving after four seasons of perfect long snaps and punter Michael Gibson was a solid choice on the second team. Defensive back Brandon McDonald, offensive lineman Blake Butler and receiver Ryan Scott also made second- or third-team.

Duke Calhoun’s selection to the All-Freshman team, which also included defensive end Greg Terrell and kicker Matt Reagan, was an easy choice for voters, too. He’s a star in the making, a player with the ability at his position to have a similar impact that DeAngelo Williams had at his.

Keep an eye out next week for the C-USA Coaches teams. For the first time, C-USA is having the coaches pick a team. It’s a somewhat strange exercise considering the media selections have annually been recognized as THE C-USA team.

About six weeks ago, the feeling at C-USA Media Day was that the league would be much better this year. There was hype about Houston. There was hype about Morris Almond and Rice. There was hype about Mike Davis landing at UAB.

It all sounded good at the time. But I’m here to tell you, the league doesn’t appear to be any better. In fact, it might be worse. I know that’s a horrifying thought for Memphis fans, but the early returns aren’t looking good.

Though C-USA is actually seventh as a league right now in the RPI ratings — ahead of the Big East and the ACC — I wouldn’t put much stock in that. The RPI is very volatile and a little bit wacky early in the season, and if I were to look into my crystal ball, I’d say C-USA will only get one NCAA Tournament bid come March (going to Memphis, of course).

Here’s my breakdown of where each C-USA team stands as we flip the calendar to December:
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Good evening and welcome to FedExForum, where the Memphis Grizzlies will take on the Washington Wizards, and I will take on the task of trying to keep up with the action and have fun with your comments.

Game time is 18 minutes away. The pregame notes are read, the pregame meal is digested — sort of — and it’s time to go.

William, a Wizards fan, asks how the injury to Kyle Lowry will affect the Griz tonight against his team. William, kind of like taking the engine out of your car. He’s what gives them the momentum, the energy. The loss is tough to take, especially since he’d been playing so well before the injury. But they’ve got to carry on. Eddie Jones is active again. We’ll see if he plays and how well he holds up.
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NOTES FROM EL PASO . . . . .

* Memphis will play the role of spoiler in its final game. UTEP has to beat the Tigers to become bowl eligible.

* The Tigers arrived in El Paso Friday afternoon and went through a light, and at times lighthearted, 45-minute workout at the Sun Bowl. Most marveled at the 51,500-seat stadium, which is cut into the side of a mountain. Memphis has never played a game in El Paso.
Long snapper Rusty Clayton sprinted to the top row of the stadium and began snapping pictures. Others took in the view that, while not particularly scenic, was unique. For a team that won’t be in the postseason for the first time in four years, the workout had the feel of bowl game practice.

* As the Tigers team charter landed in El Paso Friday morning, the New Mexico State team was boarding its charter. U of M offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner was able to speak briefly with NMSU coach Hal Mumme before Mumme had to board the charter. Fichtner said Mumme was seeking out Martin Hankins, the Memphis quarterback who played for Mumme two years ago when both were at 1-AA Southeastern Louisiana.