GAME 15: FIU at WESTERN KENTUCKY
Thursday, Jan. 7, 2016 | 8 p.m. (ET)
E.A. Diddle Arena | Bowling Green, Ky. | Fox College Sports (FCS)

FIU PANTHERS
Record: 7-7, 1-0 C-USA
Last Game: W, 76-59 vs. Florida Atlantic, January 3, 2016
Head Coach: Anthony Evans
Alma Mater: St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994 
Career Record: 137-134/ninth season
Record at FIU: 38-40/third season

WKU HILLTOPPERS
Record: 8-6, 0-1 C-USA
Last Game: L, 94-76 at Marshall, January 3, 2016
Head Coach: Ray Harper
Alma Mater: Kentucky Wesleyan, 1985
Career Record: 421-117/17th season
Record at school: 79-54/fifth season

QUICK HITS
- FIU hits the road for the first time during Conference USA play for a two-game road trip that begins in Bowling Green, Ky. where the Panthers will face WKU on Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. (ET) ... The game will be televised live on Fox College Sports (FCS) ... FIU then heads to Huntington, W.Va., to take on Marshall on Jan. 9 at 7 p.m.

- Following their 76-59 win over Florida Atlantic on Jan. 3, the Panthers are looking for their fourth-straight win, while also aiming to go 2-0 in conference play for the first time since the 2010-11 campaign when they started 3-0 to tip off the Sun Belt schedule.

- Adrian Diaz, the reigning Conference USA Co-Player of the Week, and Donte McGill continue to lead FIU in scoring, netting 15.7 and 15.3 points-per-game, respectively ... Diaz also leads in rebounding, grabbing 9.5 per-outing.

- McGill continues to be the hottest player on the team, averaging 17.6 points-per-game in his last eight outings ... He has scored 20-plus points in five of his last nine games. 

- Diaz leads Conference USA, and is No. 1 in NCAA Division I (through games of Jan. 5), in blocked shots-per-game, averaging 3.8 rejections-per-outing ... He is also tops in the nation in total blocked shots (52).

SCOUTING THE HILLTOPPERS
- WKU comes into its meeting with FIU with an 8-6 overall record, and a 0-1 mark in Conference USA play ... The Hilltoppers have won two-of-its last three games, and four-of-its last six.

- WKU is coming off a 94-76 loss at Marshall in its C-USA opener on Jan. 3 ... Justin Johnson scored a team-high 24 points while Aaron Cosby added 10 points in the loss ... Chris McNeal and Anton Waters each grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.

- Johnson and Cosby lead the Hilltoppers in the scoring column, averaging 17.0 and 11.1 points-per-game, respectively ... Fredrick Edmond (10.9 ppg.) and Nigel Snipes (10.7 ppg.) round out the double-digit scorers ... Johnson also leads the team on the glass, grabbing 8.2 rebounds-per-game.

THE SERIES VS. WKU
- WKU holds a commanding 32-5 lead in the all-time series ... FIU, however, had one win vacated (Feb. 26, 2005, 79-77) due to NCAA sanctions.

- The Panthers have lost their last three games, against the Hilltoppers, including six of their last eight ... FIU's last win was an 87-82 victory on Feb. 16, 2013 at FIU Arena.

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE PANTHERS
- FIU tipped of its Conference USA slate with an impressive 76-59 win over Florida Atlantic on Jan. 3 on Lime Court at FIU Arena ... The win was its third-straight after losing five in-a-row prior to that.

- Adrian Diaz led the way for the Panthers with 23 points and 15 rebounds, marking his sixth double-double of the season, and the 12th of his career ... FIU led by just four points at the break (30-26), and Diaz had just three points ... Diaz, however, came out in the second half and scored the team's first 12 points, and 18-of-its first 20 of the second stanza.

- Donte McGgill also chipped in with 22 points in the win ... Daviyon Draper also posted a double-double - his third of the season, and third in the last four games - with a 15-point, 15-rebound performance ... Draper's 15 boards marked a career-high.

- FIU shot 50.0 percent (26-of-52) from the field on the day, and 56.0 percent (14-of-25) in the second half ... The Panthers also outrebounded the Owls, 46-25, and 13-7 on the offensive boards ... The 13 offensive rebounds would lead to 18 second chance points.