Doesn’t look like a big crowd tonight in Cincinnati to see the No. 2 team in the country. It’s eight minutes before tip-off, and there can’t be more than 3,000 people in the building. Still, I think this will be a tough game for the Tigers. It’s their first true road game, and I am just not sure they’re ready to walk into an opponent’s building and just stomp them. If Cincinnati plays with the same passion and enthusiasm that they did against Xavier last week, this one could be close.

On another note, I ended up giving a ride to an NBA scout from the hotel to the arena. He’s seen Memphis play several times in person already this season, and here were some of his impressions.

– Derrick Rose is special, and this particular scout would take him over anybody else in this freshman class.
– Joey Dorsey is a guy that the scouts are scared to write off because of his body and his athleticism. But, obviously, some of his immaturity is scary as well. They want to see him be a Reggie Evans-type player in the NBA.
– Chris Douglas-Roberts is one of the hardest guys in college basketball to figure out from an NBA standpoint. The way he scores — the runners, the floaters, etc. — isn’t the way people score in the NBA. They want to see how he’ll score off screens, off pick-and-rolls, etc.

Anyway, enjoy the game.

In a four-day span, Kentucky has gone 0-2 against Conference USA. But if anybody tries to tell you — in the media or otherwise — that the Wildcats’ losses to UAB and Houston were upsets, you have my permission to correct them. Vehemently, if you must.

UAB and Houston beat Kentucky because, well, UAB and Houston have more talent than Kentucky. At the very least, they had more talent on the floor than a UK team minus sophomore guard Derek Jasper, who has not played this season due to injury. And without freshman forward Patrick Patterson, who missed the Houston game due to a bad ankle, the Wildcats had no chance in Hofheinz Pavilion. But even if Kentucky was fully healthy, I’m not sure the outcomes would have been that different.

For one thing, it’s obvious now that Houston is much improved from a year ago. Watching the Cougars play last night, guys like Dion Dowell and Marcus Malone are much more mature, have a way better understanding of how to play the game rather than just jacking up 3-pointers. If it wasn’t obvious to you last night that guys like Fluff McKiver, Dowell and Lanny Smith would start for this Kentucky team, you’re either an SEC homer or you don’t know basketball.

I’ve been critical of UAB so far this year, but only because of how much talent they have and the fact that they’ve taken some very disappointing losses early on. Simply put, Robert Vaden, Walter Sharpe and Reggie Huffman are better players than anything Kentucky could put on the court Saturday in Louisville.

Unfortunately for C-USA, I’m not sure how much beating Kentucky will help as far as NCAA Tournament resume. At this point, Kentucky finishing even with a winning record is shaky. But it does prove that there are some quality teams in this league, and any boost in perception helps.