Things are a bit more lively up here in NYC than the last time Memphis was here. More media, more fans in the seats, and a little more buzz in the air. Should be a really neat atmosphere for the main event. Right now, I’m watching the first half of the Kansas State-Notre Dame game. Frank Martin, the first-year Kansas State coach, might be the least demonstrative personality I’ve seen on a college bench in some time. He just passes up and down the bench, folds his arms, puts his hands in his pockets, contorts his face when he sees something he doesn’t like and figets some more. But he doesn’t say much at all. It’s interesting to watch, especially now that I’m used to John Calipari’s more animated bench behavior. I love watching Michael Beasley. He just seems to have his hand in everything that’s going on for K-State, and he even plays to the crowd a little bit.

Onto the Memphis game, it will be interesting to see how Memphis matches down defensively against USC tonight. I speculated in the paper today that Chris Douglas-Roberts will spend a lot of time checking Mayo defensively. Mayo is an absolute handful, and he’s big. At 6-7 and with those long arms, CDR can really bother Mayo if he’s playing with some zest defensively. On a handful of occasions last year, CDR did a great defensive job against top-notch players. You certainly don’t want Derrick Rose trying to guard Mayo. Rose just isn’t there yet defensively. And I’d rather use Antonio Anderson against Davon Jefferson simply from a strength standpoint. Jefferson is a big, physical guy at 6-8, and it will take someone as stout as Anderson to keep him in check.

I don’t want to make a definitive prediction on what’s going to happen tonight. Part of me thinks that Memphis is bound to lose a few games this season, so why not tonight? After all, just look at the talent on USC’s roster — there are legitimately three future NBA players there. On the other hand, USC played Southern Illinois, Oklahoma and Kansas — three absolute grinders — in the span of a week, then jumped on a plane to fly cross-country and now must play Memphis with only one day to prepare. That’s a hell of a lot to ask any team, especially one as inexperienced as USC. Meanwhile, the Tigers have been working on USC exclusively since last Thursday. Big advantage to Memphis.

Haven’t seen too many notable faces here yet, though Los Angeles Lakers owner Jerry Buss is sitting about 25 feet from me. Oh, and of course, Worldwide Wes is in the house.

The question on the minds of many fans and media types following the Grizzlies’ 106-105 loss Monday night to the Portland Trail Blazers had to do with how Travis Outlaw was able to drive from near half court to within six feet of the basket after receiving the ball with 2.8 seconds left?

A more pointed thought: Why didn’t the Griz (with a foul to give) elect to hack Outlaw after his first dribble and with so little time remaining?

Mike Miller, who defended Outlaw on the play, said Monday night that it was talked about during the time out. Head coach Marc Iavaroni shed more light on the sequence and his philosophy after Tuesday’s practice.

Iavaroni said he instructed the Grizzlies NOT to foul anyone on a drive to the basket. He doesn’t believe in that. So Miller did exactly what he was told to in that situation because Iavaroni didn’t want to risk a referee’s questionable call sending Outlaw to the free throw line.

Iavaroni noted that fouling on a drive to the basket and whether to consider “continuation” can be interpreted many ways by an official. He pointed out that Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant recently benefited from a generous call.

Sometimes all it takes is for a player to flail his arms and act as if he was shooting to con an official into awarding free throws. It’s something that actually happened in the Griz-Blazers game when a Portland player was clearly fouled before attempting a shot but was considered to be in the act of shooting.

So there’s the explanation. Now, why were the Griz even in that situation?

We don’t have enough time – not even in a blog. I, for one, am just happy that Iavaroni elected to bring Damon Stoudamire back in the game during crunch time. He makes better decisions and clutch shots no matter what’s happened during the first three quarters.

Here’s some interesting numbers on University of Memphis quarterback Martin Hankins.

In his final six game of the regular season, Hankins threw for 2,107 yards and 17 touchdowns. Excluding Hankins, only 10 quarterbacks in the program’s history have passed for more yards IN THEIR CAREERS. Again, excluding Hankins, only seven quarterbacks have thrown more touchdowns IN THEIR CAREERS.

With one game left in his two-year career (the Dec. 21 matchup in the New Orleans Bowl against Florida Atlantic), Hankins ranks second on the U of M’s passing charts in yards (5,489) and touchdowns (35). In four seasons, Danny Wimprine amassed 10,215 yards passing and tossed 81 TDs.

Hankins also will finish his career as the second-most accurate passer in the program’s history to Steve Matthews.