Tubby Smith is coming to town.
The former University of Kentucky basketball coach will bring his Memphis Tigers to face the University of Cincinnati on Thursday (7 p.m., ESPN) in an American Athletic Conference game. Smith is in his first season at Memphis (18-9, 8-6 AAC), which plays No. 15-ranked UC (24-3, 13-1 AAC) for the first and only time in the regular season.
“He’s one of the nicest people in our business, period,” UC coach Mick Cronin said Tuesday. “Obviously a great coach.”
Smith coached Kentucky to the NCAA championship in 1998, and is in his 26th season a head coach (575-284).