Memphis basketball facing a busy week

Three games in four days.

That’s what the Memphis basketball team is facing this week at the ESPN Events Invitational in Orlando, starting with Seton Hall (3-1) on Thursday (6:30 p.m., ESPNEWS). The Tigers (2-1) will face a top-30 defense for the second straight game after beating VCU 62-47 on Sunday at Fedexforum.

The Pirates’ lone setback came against Iowa. Their wins have come against Wagner, Saint Peter’s and Monmouth — all three teams outside the top 225 in Kenpom.com’s rating system.

Here are three things to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday’s contest.

Seton Hall: Who makes the Pirates go?

First-year coach Shaheen Holloway — who parlayed an Elite 8 run at Saint Peter’s last season into the job at Seton Hall — is still feeling things out with his new team.

Guard Al-amir Dawes is the Pirates’ leading scorer (12.0 ppg) and is tied for the most assists on the team with eight. But he only made his first start of the season Sunday in the romp over Wagner. Dawes, whose 26.5 minutes per game rate is tops among all Pirates, is 10 for 20 from 3-point range, by far the most attempts and makes on the team.

Inside, Seton Hall has a pair of 6foot-10 senior post players (Tyrese Samuel and Tray Jackson) who average 6.0 and 3.5 rebounds per game, respectively. Forward Tae Davis, who is 6-9, has also notched a 6.0 boards per game average.

Plenty o’ defense

The Tigers have repeatedly vowed in recent days that they will no longer take defense for granted.

After Saint Louis dropped 90 points on them in a loss last week, coach Penny Hardaway made it clear that preventing such things must be a top priority. Star guard Kendric Davis echoed those sentiments after beating VCU.

“Saint Louis scored 90 points. That’s insane,” Davis said. “We were taking the ball out of the net every time and the hardest time to score is when the defense is set.”

While the Tigers place an emphasis on that facet of the game, so does Seton Hall. The Pirates rank 29th in the country in adjusted defensive efficiency (Memphis ranks 17th) and are giving up an average of 55.8 points per game, which is tied for the 27th-best clip in the nation.

Monitoring minutes

Prior to playing VCU, Hardaway said he planned to keep center Malcolm Dandridge (knee) on a minutes restriction. The senior played just 16 minutes.

After the game, Hardaway alluded to the fact that senior guard Alex Lomax, who continues to play through injury, might also be limited during the tournament in Orlando.

“He plays hard. He just can’t catch a break,” Hardaway said of Lomax. “He dove on the floor and banged his knee up. He still has the ankle thing going on. So, with the games coming this week, we’ll see how much he can actually play.”

Lomax’s health notwithstanding, the former East High star is also struggling offensively. While his defense and leadership ability remain at a high level, Lomax is just 1 for his last 17 from the field. Between Lomax’s struggles and his health issues, Hardaway indicated an adjustment could be in the offing.

“When guys are just not playing well overall, sometimes you shift the minutes,” he said. “He hasn’t affected the game offensively, but he’s affecting the game defensively and (through his) leadership. (But) if (other) guys are playing well, then they deserve to play. So, going to Orlando, we’ll see how that works (with Lomax), especially with his health.”

Prediction

Memphis 61, Seton Hall 59: Davis (26 points and seven assists last time out) appears to be entering a groove. He will dictate the flow of the game offensively and the Tigers will clamp down hard on defense.

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