Albany @ Memphis preview

Memphis continues to gain knowledge while adding victories and hopes to continue the trend when it hosts dangerous Albany on Tuesday night. The Tigers have won three in a row and six of their last seven, including three victories by two or fewer points, after shooting 57.6 percent from the field with 13 made 3-pointers to pull away from visiting Bryant 90-72 on Saturday.

“We’re just getting better every day,” Memphis junior guard Jeremiah Martin told reporters. “I’m just glad the teams we’ve been playing (before Bryant) have taken us down to the last second. I think it was something we needed and something we’ll need going into conference season.” The Tigers open play in the American Athletic Conference against Cincinnati on New Year’s Eve and meet rival Louisville on Saturday in New York, but must concentrate on the high-scoring Great Danes in the first meeting between the two programs. Memphis needs to improve on the defensive end where it is allowing almost 70 points, 42.2 percent shooting and 8.5 makes from 3-point range per contest in the early going. Albany has won four straight since its lone loss to Monmouth on Nov. 27, and is scoring 81.8 points while shooting 49.5 percent from the field overall with three players averaging at least 14.

TV: 9 p.m. ET, ESPNU

ABOUT ALBANY (10-1): Joe Cremo tops the team at 18.1 points per game - shooting 50.4 percent overall and draining 26-of-47 from 3-point range - while fellow junior guard David Nichols is averaging 16.7 points and a team-best 3.7 assists. Senior forward Travis Charles rounds out the high-scoring trio at 14.7 per contest and shoots 61.4 percent from the floor after matching his season high with 19 points in Saturday’s 74-69 victory over Siena. Senior forward Greig Stire has hauled in double-digit rebounds in three straight games and averages a team-best 7.5.

ABOUT MEMPHIS (6-2): Freshman guard Jamal Johnson made his first start Saturday against Bryant and produced a season-best 18 points on 6-of-11 from 3-point range. “He’s a very unselfish player,” Tigers coach Tubby Smith told reporters. “He really got in the lineup not just because of his shooting, but because he’s defending. He’s very solid. He’s not going to take a lot of chances. He’s very fundamentally sound.” Martin tops the team in scoring (17.8) and assists (4.1) while junior forward Kyvon Davenport contributing 13.8 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds.

TIP-INS

1. Memphis 6-11 Egyptian F Karim Sameh Azab, who sat out last season because of NCAA eligibility issues, made his debut Saturday with one rebound and one assist in eight minutes.

2. Albany has outrebounded every opponent and leads the America East while sitting 12th in the nation with a plus-10.4 margin on the boards.

3. Tigers senior F Jimario Rivers drained 9-of-14 in the last two games and leads the team in shooting percentage (54.8).

PREDICTION: Memphis 78, Albany 70