Photo Credit: Richard Lewis (pictured - junior Joey De La Rosa)

FIU Game Notes (PDF)

FIU (6-2) at South Carolina (1-2)

Teams - FIU Panthers (6-2 overall, 3-0 away); South Carolina Gamecocks (1-2 overall, 1-0 home)
Date - Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013
Location - Columbia, S.C.
Arena - Colonial Life Arena (18,000)
Television - FOX Sports South / FOX Sports Carolinas -  Andy Demetra and Eddie Fogler will call the action. FS South can be seen in the Miami area on Channel 48 (SD) /648 (HD) (Cable TV); Channel 646 (SD/HD) (DirecTV); Channel 420 (SD) /5420 (HD) (Dish Network)
Twitter - @FIUMensBBall
Facebook - FIUMensBBall
Live Audio Streaming - N/A
Live Stats - www.gamecocksonline.com (GameTracker)
Records - FIU enters Sunday's game with an overall record of 6-2 following an 82-67 win at Bethune-Cookman on Thursday, Nov. 21. South Carolina enters Sunday's game with a 1-2 record following a 71-57 loss at Clemson on Sunday, Nov. 17.
Rankings - FIU is not ranked in either poll. USC is not ranked in either poll.
FIU Head Coach Anthony Evans - Coach Evans (St. Thomas Aquinas '94) enters Sunday's contest with a career record of 105-96 (.522 - seventh season overall) and 6-2 at FIU (.750 - first season).
USC Head Coach Frank Martin - Coach Martin (FIU '93) enters Sunday's contest with a career record at South Carolina of 15-20 (.429 - second season). Martin has never faced the Panthers.
Series History - Sunday's game between the Panthers and Gamecocks will mark the second meeting all-time between the two teams with USC holding a 1-0 edge in the series history. The last meeting between the two squads resulted in a 110-72 win for the Gamecocks on Feb. 16, 1985 in Columbia, S.C.
Officials - Announced on game day

Panthers Travel to Columbia, S.C., to take on the Gamecocks
Riding the nation's longest winning streak (6 games), the FIU men's basketball team (6-2) travels to Columbia, S.C., to take on the South Carolina Gamecocks on Sunday, Nov. 24. The game will be broadcast on FOX Sports South / FOX Sports Carolinas with tipoff set for 1:00 p.m. ET.

The meeting between the two teams will mark the first time the Panthers and Gamecocks will take the same court in nearly 28 years (Feb. 16, 1985 in Columbia, S.C.).

FIU is coming off a 15-point victory over the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Thursday, Nov. 21. Seniors Tymell Murphy and Rakeem Buckles led the Panthers to the team's sixth-straight victory. Murphy led all scorers with a season-high 24 points, shooting 5-of-9 from the floor and 13-of-14 from the free-throw line. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native tied the school record for consecutive free-throws made (13 – Patrick McDonald vs. Arizona – Dec. 1, 1986). Murphy also grabbed 11 boards for his fifth double-double of the season and the 13th of his FIU career. Buckles added 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting, while setting a career mark in rebounding with 15 boards versus the Wildcats.

FIU comes into Sunday's contest averaging 75.5 points-per-game, while shooting 46.4 percent from the floor and 35.1 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 66.7 percent of its attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 63.9 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 37.8 percent from the floor. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 339-277, averaging 42.4 boards-per-contest. FIU also comes into Thursday's game averaging 4.9 blocks-per-game following a school-record-tying performance by the Panthers that registered 10 blocks versus the Hatters on Monday, Nov. 18.

Leading FIU offensively is Buckles, who comes into this week's game averaging 15.8 points-per-game on 52.4 percent shooting from the floor. The Miami native also leads the team in rebounding, averaging 9.5 rebounds-per-game and is tied for the team lead with Murphy in total blocks (14). Murphy, who is second on the team in scoring (14.8 ppg) is coming off his 10th-career 20-point outing with 24 versus the Wildcats on Thursday. Murphy is the team's second-leading rebounder, averaging 9.1 boards-per-game.

FIU – South Carolina Series History
Sunday's game between FIU and South Carolina will mark the second meeting all-time between the two teams.

    - USC holds a 1-0 edge in the series history.
    - The last meeting between FIU and South Carolina resulted in a 110-72 win for the Gamecocks on Feb. 16, 1985, in Columbia, S.C.
    - FIU is 1-12 all-time versus teams from the Southeastern Conference (SEC).
    - The Panthers are looking for their first-ever win in Columbia, S.C.
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans has never faced the Gamecocks.
    - USC Head Coach Frank Martin is a 1993 graduate of FIU.    

An FIU Victory Would....

    - Improve FIU's record to 7-2.
        - Improve FIU's non-conference record to 7-2.
    - Give FIU its seventh-straight victory.
    - Give FIU its third-straight road victory.
        - Improve FIU's record versus South Carolina to 1-1.
         - Give FIU a 3-0 record in road games in '13-'14.
        - Give FIU a record of 7-2 in the month of November.
    - Give FIU its most victories during the month of November in the program's history.
        - Improve Head Coach Anthony Evans' career record to 106-96.
        - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 7-2.
    - Improve FIU to 2-12 all-time versus the SEC.
        - Give FIU its 383rd win (actual on-court record).
        - Give FIU its 299th Division I win (actual on-court record).

Lucky No. 13
Senior Tymell Murphy was nearly perfect from the line versus the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Thursday, Nov. 21, going 13-of-14 from the charity stripe. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native made the first 13 before missing his final attempt of the night. The 13-consecutive made free-throws tied the school record held by Patrick McDonald (vs. Arizona – Dec. 1, 1986).

Going for Seven-Straight
With the Panther's 82-67 win over the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats on Thursday, FIU has now won six-straight contests. This is the longest winning streak for the Panthers since FIU won six-straight games during the 1999-2000 season (1/8/00 - 1/24/00).

Block Party
On Monday, Nov. 18, versus the Stetson Hatters, the FIU Panthers tied the school record for blocks in a game, recording 10 in the 75-66 win. The blocks total tied a mark set by FIU on two other occasions – Dec. 28, 2004 versus Ohio University and on Jan. 3, 1989 at UMES.

Speaking of Blocks
Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles was a big part of the team's record-tying performance, recording a career-high eight blocks. The feat tied the school record for blocks in a game set by David Gregg on Jan. 3, 1989 at UMES.

A Little Thievery
Redshirt junior Dennis Mavin enters Sunday's game as the team's leader in steals with 13. Mavin is averaging 1.6 steals-per-game and has recorded a career-high four steals twice this season. His 13 steals are two shy of tying his career-best for steals in a single season (15 in 2010-2011).

Cleaning the Glass
Through the first eight games this season, FIU has held a decisive advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the opposition, 339-277. Leading the way for FIU is redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles, who is averaging 9.5 rebounds-per-contest. Following Buckles is senior Tymell Murphy, who is grabbing 9.1 boards-per-game.

No. 200
On Monday, Nov. 18, FIU defeated the Stetson Hatters, 75-66. It also marked the 200th-career game for Head Coach Anthony Evans, who improved his record to 104-96 in seven seasons as a head coach.

Home Sweet Home
With the Panthers' 75-66 win over Stetson on Monday, Nov. 18, FIU has won seven-straight home games, dating back to Feb. 7, 2012. The Panthers won their final four home games to close out the 2012-13 season and have opened the 2013-2014 with back-to-back home wins. This is the longest home-winning streak since FIU collected a school-record 18-straight from Feb. 15, 1997 to Nov. 29, 1998.

Now That's Impressive
In three of the team's first seven games, redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles has notched 20 points, including a career-high 26 points versus the Warren Wilson Owls on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Joining Buckles as part of the 20-point club this season is senior Tymell Murphy, who has posted two 20-point outings, including a 24-points performance at Bethune-Cookman on Thursday, Nov. 21. Last year, the 20-point plateau was hit 14 times.

Versus the SEC
The Panthers game versus Gamecocks will mark the team's 14th game against a team from the Southeastern Conference (SEC). FIU is 1-12 all-time versus members of the SEC and holds a 0-1 mark all-time versus the Gamecocks.

Raining Threes
Entering Sunday's game versus South Carolina, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 153-straight games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2008.

500 and counting
On Sunday, Nov. 10, senior Tymell Murphy scored his 500th point as a member of the FIU men's basketball team. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native enters Saturday's contest with 586-career points.