GAME 30: FIU at rv/rv MIDDLE TENNESSEE
Thursday, March 2, 2017 | 7:30 p.m. (ET) | ESPN3
Murphy Center | Murfreesboro, Tenn.

Click here to watch FIU and Middle Tennessee live on ESPN3.
 
FIU PANTHERS
Record: 6-23, 2-14 C-USA
Last Game: L, 90-76 vs. UTEP, February 25, 2017
Head Coach: Anthony Evans
Alma Mater: St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994 
Career Record: 149-169/10th season
Record at FIU: 50-75/Fourth season
Top Players: Donte McGill (19.0 ppg, 44.4% FG), Michael Kessens (12.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
               
MIDDLE TENNESSEE BLUE RAIDERS
Record: 25-4, 14-1 C-USA
Last Game: W, 66-64 at UAB, February 26, 2017
Head Coach: Kermit Davis
Alma Mater: Mississippi State, 1982
Career Record: 438-254/22nd season
Record at school: 301-179/15th season
Top Players: JaCorey Williams (17.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg), Giddy Potts (15.0 ppg, 5.4 rpg)
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: ESPN3
Jake Rose (Play-by-play)
Alex Myers (Color commentary)
Radio/Audio: None
Live Stats: FIUSports.com
Series: Middle Tennessee leads, 28-8
Twitter: @FIUHoops
Tickets: For ticket information, contact the Middle Tennessee athletic ticket office at 1-888-YES-MTSU (937-6878).
 
QUICK HITS
- The FIU men's basketball team begins its final road trip of the 2016-17 season when it heads to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to face Middle Tennessee on March 2 at the Murphy Center ... Tipoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. (ET) ... The game will be carried live on ESPN3 with Jake Rose calling the action and Alex Myers providing color commentary ... Following Thursday, the Panthers close out the 2016-17 campaign at UAB on March 4 (8 p.m. ET).
 
- Senior guard Donte McGill comes into Thursday's game just six points shy of becoming the seventh player in school history to reach the 1,000-point plateau ... If he does it Thursday he will have reached the mark in just 58 career games.
 
- FIU is coming off a 90-76 loss to UTEP on Feb. 25 in Miami ... Donte McGill led FIU with 18 points, while Eric Nottage and Eric Lockett added 14 points apiece in the loss ... Elmo Stephen rounded out the double-digit scorers netting 11 points ... Nottage, Michael Kessens, Cameron Smith and Osasumwen Osaghae all grabbed three rebounds.
 
- McGill leads the team in scoring through 29 games, averaging 19.0 points-per-contest ... Kessens is averaging 12.9 points-per-game, good enough for second on the team, and a team-high 9.0 rebounds-per-outing ... His rebounding average is second in Conference USA ... Eric Nottage is also in double figures, netting 11.4 points-per-game.
 
- Anthony Evans is in his fourth season as head coach of the Panthers, and his 10th season overall ... FIU's game against Georgia Southern on Dec. 15 was Evans's 300th of his head coaching career.
 
UP NEXT FOR FIU
- Following Thursday, the Panthers close out the 2016-17 campaign at UAB on March 4 ... Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET ... The game will be carried live on Campus Insiders.
 
SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE
- Middle Tennessee comes into Thursday's game with a 25-4 record and a sparkling 15-1 mark in Conference USA ... The Blue Raiders are coming off a 66-64 win over UAB on Feb. 26 in Birmingham ... Reggie Upshaw led the way for MT with 19 points and JaCorey Williams added 15 points ... Upshaw and Giddy Potts each grabbed a game-high six rebounds ... The Blue Raiders have won their last five-straight and 15 of their last 16 games. 
 
- JaCorey Williams leads three players in double digits in the scoring column on the year, averaging 17.4 points-per-game, while Giddy Potts is netting 15.0 points-per-outing ... Reggie Upshaw rounds out the double-figure scorers, dropping in 14.3 points-per-game on the season ... Williams also leads the team on the glass, grabbing 7.5 rebounds-per-game.
 
THE SERIES AGAINST THE BLUE RAIDERS
- The Blue Raiders hold a commanding 28-8 lead on FIU in the all-time series ... Middle Tennessee has won 13 of its last 15 games against the Panthers ... FIU last defeated Middle Tennessee, 59-54, on March 5, 2015 in Miami.
 
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST MIDDLE TENNESSEE
- The Panthers suffered a 65-52 loss to Middle Tennessee on Jan. 19 in Miami ... Donte McGill scored a team-high 21 points and Michael Kessens added 12 points in the loss ... Eric Nottage grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
 
- FIU, who shot just 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field, including 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from three-point range, could not overcome Middle Tennessee's 51.1 percent (24-of-47) shooting from the floor on the night ... The Blue Raiders also outrebounded the Panthers, 32-24 ... It was the third-straight game that FIU was outrebounded after holding the advantage on the glass in 13 of the first 16 games of the year.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE PANTHERS
- FIU is coming off a 90-76 loss to UTEP on Feb. 25 in Miami ... Donte McGill led FIU with 18 points, while Eric Nottage and Eric Lockett added 14 points apiece in the loss ... Elmo Stephen rounded out the double-digit scorers, netting 11 points ... Nottage, Michael Kessens, Cameron Smith and Osasumwen Osaghae all grabbed three rebounds.