Hey folks, there’s a lot of blue in the crowd, but probably only half of it right now is Memphis blue. Looks like several dozen Kentucky fans decided to make the trip anyway, despite the Wildcats’ loss to Gardner-Webb. This isn’t a huge crowd, by the way. The lower bowl is maybe half-full, and there isn’t a soul up above. And that’s with UConn playing, so I wouldn’t expect the late game crowd would be any better.

As I’m writing this, the second half of Gardner-Webb and UConn is underway, and it looks like the Atlantic Sun team is trying to make a little bit of a comeback here. Still, I’d expect UConn to stay in control and advance to the championship game. UConn is wearing those new form-fitting uniforms that several Nike schools are trying out this year. The uniforms are interesting; they almost look like cycling jerseys, though. They don’t flatter every body type, if you know what I mean. I don’t sense a trend here.

Notebale people spotted in the crowd and on press row so far:
– Tiger recruit Michael Gilchrist, the highly-rated ninth-grader from the Philadelphia area who said earlier this year that Memphis was his top school.
– Former Virginia coach and current CSTV analyst Pete Gillen
– ESPN’s Andy Katz
– SI.com’s Luke Winn
– Howie Schwab, of “Stump the Schwab,” who looks like he’s keeping the stats for ESPN’s broadcast team of Dan Schulman and Dick Vitale
– The Tiger contingent sitting directly to my right includes athletic director R.C. Johnson and his wife, Melba, as well as president Dr. Shirley Raines and Ellen, Megan and Bradley Calipari.