Memphis basketball vs UAB: Score prediction, scouting report with Penny Hardaway, Tigers on losing streak

Memphis basketball has hit a two-game losing skid, but the most recent loss might be the scariest yet.

The 19th-ranked Tigers (15-4, 4-2 AAC) squandered a 20-point lead in a home loss to South Florida on Jan. 18, then let a winnable game at Tulane three days later get away from them. Now, Penny Hardaway's team hits the road again, this time to face UAB on Sunday (4 p.m., ESPN). The Blazers (12-7, 4-2) had won eight out of nine − a stretch that includes victories over both South Florida and Tulane − before losing at Charlotte on Tuesday.

Despite UAB's good work lately, Andy Kennedy's team is No. 154 in the NET rankings entering Wednesday's games, behind the Bulls, Green Wave and Tigers. Which makes the Blazers a Quad 3 opponent for Memphis, even on the road.

Here are three things to keep an eye on ahead of Sunday's contest.

Where Penny Hardaway needs Memphis basketball to focus

There's nothing wrong with Memphis' offense. And there likely won't be as long as Jahvon Quinerly and David Jones keep up their strong play and Jaykwon Walton doesn't fall into another slump.

The focus on defense, however, must be ramped up. Since AAC play started, the Tigers are allowing 74.7 points per game (sixth-most in the league). They're also last among all conference teams in defensive rebounding percentage (67%).

After the loss at Tulane, Hardaway said a lack of effort ("jogging back in transition") and not paying attention to detail have had a lot to do with the team's defensive struggles. On Monday, he said he will use this week to dial up the intensity in practice and work on correcting the problem.

Memphis' Malcolm Dandridge, Jordan Brown vs UAB's Yaxel Lendeborg

Malcolm Dandridge is playing the best basketball of his Memphis career this season, averaging 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds a game to go along with a 1.7 blocked shot average (third in the AAC).

Dandridge is coming off the best single-game performance of his career: 13 points, eight rebounds and eight blocks in a career-high 31 minutes. Only Keith Lee and David Vaughn (nine each) have had games with more than eight blocks.

The Tigers also recently welcomed 6-foot-11 Jordan Brown back from an 11-game absence.

But Dandridge and Brown might have their hands full with UAB center Yaxel Lendeborg. The 6-foot-9 former two-time junior college All-American is playing at an all-conference level so far. Lendeborg, pursued by Memphis last offseason, has averaged 11.5 points, 9.0 rebounds (26th in the country in defensive rebounding percentage) and 2.1 blocks per game (second in the AAC).

Javian Davis (6-9) is another player that gives the Blazers a formidable front court. Davis leads UAB with a 55.7% field goal percentage and is 55th in the nation in offensive rebounding percentage.

UAB Blazers scouting report

UAB is not a particularly dangerous shooting team, hitting just 49.1% of its 2-point field goal attempts (224th in the country) and only 31.2% of its 3-point shots (278th in the nation).

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But the Blazers have pieces, outside of Lendeborg and Davis, capable of driving to the basket and scoring points in leading scorer Eric Gaines (12.2 ppg and 4.1 apg) and fellow guard Alejandro Vasquez (10.8 ppg).

Kennedy also likes to mix up his defensive schemes. He leans primarily on the 1-3-1 zone, but he will also sprinkle in some man-to-man as well as a 2-3 zone look.

Memphis basketball score prediction vs. UAB

Memphis 75, UAB 69: With a week to prepare, the Tigers will win.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball vs. UAB: Score prediction, scouting report