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.