Memphis basketball vs. SMU: Scouting report, score prediction as Tigers host AAC's second-place team

Things don't get any easier for the Memphis basketball team this week.

The Tigers (9-7, 3-3 AAC), sixth in the league standings after dropping road games to UCF and East Carolina, get second-place SMU (13-4, 4-1) at home Thursday (6 p.m., ESPN2).

The Mustangs – winners of 10 of their last 11 games – are rolling, largely thanks to an offense that has put up 70 points or more in all but two games.

Here are some things to keep an eye on.

Where did the Memphis defense go?

Memphis was as sound a defensive team as there was in the country the past two seasons.

Things were going well early on in 2021-22, too. But lately, cracks in the Tigers' foundation have surfaced. In the first nine games, Memphis opponents shot 40% or better from the field three times. In the seven games since, opposing teams have hit or exceeded that mark five times.

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Senior forward DeAndre Williams missed four of those five games. The 6-foot-8 Williams went down with a back injury during the Tigers' win over Tulsa on Jan. 4 and has not returned.

Williams is among the most valuable players on the team. Not only is he the leading scorer and second-leading rebounder, but he also provides sound defense (third-most steals on the team and nine blocks in 12 games), versatility (the ability to guard multiple positions) and a contagious motor.

His scoring ability and offensive rebounding percentage (10.8) also helps take pressure off the defense.

So, will the Tigers have Williams back Thursday? Coach Penny Hardaway classified it as "a game-time decision" Monday, the same label he put on the team's other injured players (Landers Nolley II, Jayden Hardaway and Alex Lomax).

SMU scouting report

The Mustangs are scoring 76.9 points a game, which ranks third in the AAC (Tigers are at 77.0). Tim Jankovich, who served as an assistant to Memphis assistant Larry Brown when Brown was SMU's coach (2012-16), has his team ranked 66th in the NET – three spots behind the Tigers.

Senior point guard Kendric Davis is the key to everything for the Mustangs. He leads the league in scoring (21 ppg) and free throw percentage (89%). He's also third in the AAC in assists (5.0 apg), 3-point field goal percentage (40.2%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.13).

Davis has a new-look supporting cast, as SMU hit the transfer portal hard last offseason. Duquesne transfer Marcus Weathers is the second-leading rebounder in the AAC (7.1 rpg) and the second-leading scorer on the team (10.5 ppg).

Weathers' twin brother, Michael, who has seen time at Miami (Ohio), Oklahoma State and most recently Texas Southern, leads SMU in blocks (18) and averages 9.2 points.

While Davis takes the majority of 3-pointers (117), Emmanuel Bandoumel and Zach Nutall (a Sam Houston State transfer) are also given plenty of green lights. Bandoumel and Nutall have combined for 188 3-point attempts and have hit 36.2% of them.

Prediction

Memphis 84, SMU 78: Just when you're ready to count the Tigers out, they totally redeem themselves.

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @munzly.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball vs. SMU: Scouting report and score prediction