Big games have meant big trouble for Memphis. Which is what worries coach John Calipari most about tonight's showdown against the University of Cincinnati. All five times the Tigers have played in front of at least 18,000 fans, they have lost, including four at The Pyramid.

        In those games, they averaged just 63.6 points and shot 37.7 percent from the field; they average 75.8 points for the season and shoot 43.2 percent.

UC at MEMPHIS

• When: 9 p.m. today.   • Where: The Pyramid (20,142), Memphis, Tenn.   • Records: Memphis 14-9 (8-2 C-USA), UC 16-7 (6-4).   • TV: ESPN.   • Radio: WLW-AM (700).   MEMPHIS   Player-Ht-Yr-Avg   Shannon Forman-6-5-Sr.-10.1   Kelly Wise-6-10-Jr.-15.3   Modibo Diarra-6-10-Fr.-3.1   Scooter McFadgon-6-5-Fr.-10.3   Shyrone Chatman -6-4-Sr.-9.5   Coach: John Calipari (14-9, first season; 207-80 overall)   CINCINNATI   Player-Ht-Yr-Avg   Immanuel McElroy-6-4-Jr.-5.8   Jamaal Davis -6-9-Jr.-7.8   B.J. Grove-6-11-So.-3.6   Steve Logan-6-0-Jr.-16.5   Kenny Satterfield-6-2-So.-14.0   Coach: Bob Huggins (292-93, 12th season; 460-165 overall)  BY THE NUMBERS   • 31-26: UC's series lead. • 8-5: UC's record in The Pyramid. • 3-4: UC's record vs. Memphis in The Pyramid.

        Memphis expects a crowd of about 20,000 for this crucial Conference USA matchup (9 p.m., ESPN).

        “We get a little selfish because we're thinking, "I'm really going to get my numbers today in front of a national television audience,'” Calipari said. “Winning basketball puts all agendas aside. The thing with this team is, significant games are tough because they haven't been there before.”

        Since March 11, when Memphis TV and radio stations broadcast live the announcement of Calipari's hiring, the former Massachusetts and New Jersey Nets coach has shoul dered the responsibility for everything involving the program.

        He hit local organizations and every area high school to drum up support. He has helped raise more than $100,000, a portion of which will go to the on-campus library.

        Calipari accepted blame for his team's too-demanding nonconference schedule, saying his ego got in the way when he scheduled Temple, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Miami (Fla.) and the Puerto Rico Shootout, during which Memphis played the Miami RedHawks, Stanford and Utah. The Tigers started 4-8.

        The first-year coach also said that, early on, he did not have his team playing the best style for it to win games.

        And he says he knew before the Feb.2 loss to Marquette that the Tigers were not playing hard enough, yet he did not address it because they had won eight in a row.

        “Then we went to straight

        scrimmaging (in practice),” Calipari said. “All of a sudden, our intensity the last few games has gone up and up and up.”

        The Tigers (14-9) own the best conference record at 8-2 and lead South Florida by one game in the National Division. They have won 10 of 11.

        Calipari led UMass to the 1996 Final Four, then left to become coach of the Nets. He was fired 20 games into his third season. Last year, he was an assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers.

        Memphis lured him back into the college game with a new practice facility, weight room and training room just for the men's program; remodeled locker rooms; a new team room, and a five-year contract with a $550,000 base salary that could reach $930,000 a year with incentives.

        “It feels like a pro team,” freshman Scooter McFadgon told ESPN.com in the preseason.

        The day after he was hired, Calipari mentioned on a local TV sports show that the program needed new weight equipment. It arrived within a week. He said on the radio that players needed laptops for use on campus and on the road. That day, companies began calling, offering to help. Twelve Gateway laptops were donated by a local VFW post.

        “I've never seen anything like this,” third-year sports information director Ron Mears said. “It's a different world. I mean that in a good sort of way.”

        “That's one of the premiere jobs in the league,” UC coach Bob Huggins said. “They've got tremendous resources.”

        And Memphis has some talent on its roster.

        Junior forward Kelly Wise, a preseason all-league pick, may be the best post player in the league. He leads C-USA in rebounding (10.5) and averages 15.3 points.

        Wise averaged 21 points, seven rebounds and two blocks in two games last week, while shooting 77 percent from the field.

        “He's very mobile,” Huggins said. “He can score in transition. He scores in the post. He's very active.”

        Memphis is the No.2 rebounding team in the league; UC is 10th. That is a concern for UC.

        Both teams are trying to get in position for an NCAA bid.

        “Our team, for the first time this late in the season, is in a position to do some special things,” Calipari said. “It's all new to them. I'm trying to walk them through it, but feeling it and hearing it are two different things. Right now, I'm trying to get us to play our best basketball at the biggest moment.”

        NOTEWORTHY: UC junior Jamaal Davis, who sprained his left ankle Saturday at Southern Miss, is expected to play today.

        Memphis junior guard John Grice and sophomore guard Courtney Trask will be in uniform tonight for the first since Dec.5. The two have been suspended since Dec.8 for what has been reported as academic misconduct.

        Trask started the first seven games and averaged 6.1 points.

Memphis can pass test against UC

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