Siena basketball looks at UAlbany game plan vs. Memphis

They battle for the Albany Cup every year, but Siena men's basketball coach Jimmy Patsos is still looking to University at Albany head coach Will Brown for a way to compete against the University of Memphis on Wednesday night.

The Saints and Great Danes each play Memphis as part of the Gotham Classic event this season. UAlbany lost 67-58 at Memphis last Tuesday. The Great Danes trailed by 1 with 7:17 left before the Tigers went on a 9-0 run to pull away.

Now Siena (3-8) gets its turn to visit FedExForum, also home to the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, to face Memphis of the American Athletic Conference.

"Me and Will keep in touch,'' Patsos said. "I'm going to watch the Albany (vs. Memphis) tape because that's a good barometer. Albany's clearly a better team than us this year, but (we're a) similar level and that's the one tape I'm going to watch because I value how good Albany prepares and I want to see what they did."

UAlbany defeated Siena 74-69 on Dec. 9, the Great Danes' fifth win over the Saints in the past six seasons. That game was also part of the Gotham Classic, a five-team exempt event that ends Wednesday. While Siena takes on Memphis, UAlbany is playing at Louisville, which routed Siena 86-60 Dec. 6.

Patsos hopes his team also learns from the loss to Louisville, a team that's long and athletic like Memphis. Siena trailed the Cardinals by only 1 with 15:26 to play before an 18-0 Louisville run settled matters. The Cardinals blocked 15 shots that night.

"We've got to make the easy pass,'' Patsos said. "If you learn from Louisville, make the easy pass and drop it off for a layup or kick it out for a 3, you've got a chance. If you don't and do exactly what you did at Louisville, everybody trying to be the hero and drive to the rim against these guys, you're done."

Memphis (7-3) is led by 6-foot-3 junior point guard Jeremiah Martin, who averages a team-high 18.1 points and 4 assists per game. He'll provide a stern test for UAlbany freshman point guard Roman Penn, coming off his first Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Rookie of the Week honor.

"I want to see how (Penn) does,'' Patsos said. "Roman's probably our best player now and now he gets to play against their best player."

Penn had a career-high 19 points in Siena's most recent game, an 87-68 victory over Bryant in Smithfield, R.I. on Sunday.

While it'll be difficult for Siena to get its first back-to-back wins of the season, Patsos would like to see another strong 40-minute effort, something that's been hard for the Saints to string together.

"You play hard when you practice hard,'' Patsos said. "We just did that. Can we do it again? I'm very interested to see."

Patsos said he wasn't sure if Siena freshman center Prince Oduro will be able to play on Wednesday. Oduro made the trip but has been struggling with plantar fasciitis.

"His foot's killing him, and whether it's physical or mental, it's not getting better,'' Patsos said.

If Oduro can't go, junior forward Evan Fisher could find himself back in the starting lineup after coming off the bench for one game.

The Saints will have to deal inside with Memphis' Kyvon Davenport, a 6-8 junior college transfer averaging 12.7 points and 6.6 rebounds per game.

Memphis only shoots 30.1 percent from 3-point range, which could make Siena's 2-3 zone effective. But Tigers junior guard Kareem Brewton Jr. came off the bench to make three 3-pointers and score a season-high 19 points against UAlbany.

Patsos is very familiar with Memphis head coach Tubby Smith, in his second season with the Tigers. Smith's son G.G. was a Patsos assistant at Loyola (Md.) and succeeded him as Greyhounds head coach when Patsos left for Siena in 2013.

"Tubby's done a great job defensively wherever he's been,'' Patsos said.

The Saints played Memphis during Patsos' first season, when Josh Pastner was still leading the Tigers. Memphis beat Siena 87-60 on Thanksgiving in the 2013 Old Spice Classic in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

There are no players on either roster left from that game.

msingelais@timesunion.com • 518-454-5509 • @MarkSingelais