Photo Credit: Richard Lewis (pictured - redshirt junior Dennis Mavin)

FIU Game Notes (PDF)

FIU (6-3) vs. Georgia State (2-4)

Teams - FIU Panthers (6-3 overall, 3-0 home); Georgia State Panthers (2-4 overall, 0-3 away)
Date - Saturday, Nov. 30, 2013
Location - Miami, Fla.
Arena - U.S. Century Bank Arena (5,000)
Tickets - 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263)
Television - N/A
Twitter - @FIUMensBBall
Facebook - FIUMensBBall
Live Video Streaming - PantherVision (www.FIUSports.com)
Live Stats - www.FIUSports.com
Records - FIU enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 6-3 following an 84-72 loss at South Carolina on Sunday, Nov. 24. Georgia State enters Saturday's game with a 2-4 record following a 90-85 loss at Elon on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
Rankings - FIU is not ranked in either poll. Georgia State is not ranked in either poll.
FIU Head Coach Anthony Evans - Coach Evans (St. Thomas Aquinas '94) enters Saturday's contest with a career record of 105-97 (.519 - seventh season overall) and 6-3 at FIU (.667 - first season).
GSU Head Coach Ron Hunter - Coach Hunter (Miami - Ohio '86) enters Saturday's contest with a career record at Georgia State of 39-32 (.549 - third season). Hunter is 1-0 all-time versus the Panthers.
Series History - Saturday's game between the FIU and Georgia State will mark the 17th meeting all-time between the two teams with the series tied at 8-8. The last meeting between the two squads resulted in a 73-47 win for Georgia State on Dec. 1, 2011 in Atlanta, Ga.
Officials - Announced on game day

FIU Hosts Georgia State
The FIU men's basketball team (6-3) looks to rebound from an 84-72 loss at South Carolina last Sunday, as the Panthers host Georgia State (2-4) on Saturday, Nov. 30. Game time is set for 5:00 p.m. from Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena. Fans can view the game free of charge on PantherVision via the official website of FIU Athletics, FIUSports.com.

Senior Tymell Murphy notched his second-straight, 20-point outing on Sunday versus the Gamecocks, scoring a game-high 22 points. The native of Brooklyn, N.Y., also tallied a team-high five assists. Junior Marco Porcher Jimenez tied his career-high in points with 15 on 5-of-8 shooting, including two treys. The Malaga, Spain native has hit at least one 3-pointer in each of the Panthers first nine games this season. Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles grabbed a team-high eight rebounds to go along with 11 points on Sunday. The Miami native was a perfect 6-of-6 from the line. Redshirt junior Dennis Mavin added 10 points in the game, shooting 4-of-9, while dishing out three assists.

The loss to South Carolina snapped a six-game winning streak for the Panthers. However, FIU is looking to pick up its eighth-straight home win on Saturday. The Panthers enter the Georgia State game having won seven-straight home games, dating back to Feb. 7, 2012.

FIU comes into Saturday's contest averaging 75.1 points-per-game, while shooting 46.5 percent from the floor and 35.4 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 68.7 percent of its attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 66.1 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 39.2 percent from the floor. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 366-308, averaging 40.7 boards-per-contest.

Leading the Panthers offensively is Murphy, who comes into Saturday's game averaging 15.6 points-per-game on 62.2 percent shooting from the floor. Buckles is second on the team in scoring, averaging 15.2 points-per-game and leads the team in rebounding, grabbing 9.3 boards-per-contest. Murphy is second on the team in rebounding, averaging 8.7 rebounds-per-game.

FIU – Georgia State Series History
Saturday's game between FIU and Georgia State will mark the 17th meeting all-time between the two teams.

    - The series history is tied, 8-8.
    - The last meeting between FIU and Georgia State resulted in a 73-47 win for GSU on Dec. 1, 2011, in Atlanta, Ga.
    - FIU is 62-122 all-time versus teams from the Sun Belt Conference.
    - Saturday's contest will be the Panthers first contest versus a member of the team's former conference (SBC), since joining Conference USA this season.
    - Saturday's contest will also be a meeting between former TAAC conference foes (now Atlantic Sun). FIU held a 6-5 edge all-time in conference play over GSU.
    - FIU holds a 4-2 edge in the series history at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
    - FIU has won two straight over GSU in Miami, Fla.
    - Saturday will mark the first meeting between the two teams in Miami since FIU defeated
    Georgia State, 73-59, on Jan. 9, 1997.
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans has never faced the Panthers.

An FIU Victory Would....

    - Improve FIU's record to 7-3.
        - Improve FIU's non-conference record to 7-3.
    - Give FIU its eighth-straight home victory.
        - Improve FIU's record versus Georgia State to 9-8.
         - Give FIU a 4-0 record in home games in '13-'14.
        - Give FIU a record of 7-3 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 106-97.
        - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 7-3.
    - Improve FIU to 63-122 all-time versus the SBC.
        - Give FIU its 383rd win (actual on-court record).
        - Give FIU its 299th Division I win (actual on-court record).
    - Give FIU its 210th win all-time at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
    - Give FIU its 253rd win at home all-time.

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).

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.

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 Saturday's game as the team's leader in steals with 14. Mavin is averaging 1.6 steals-per-game and has recorded a career-high four steals twice this season. His 14 steals are one shy of tying his career-best for steals in a single season (15 in 2010-2011).

Cleaning the Glass
Through nine games this season, FIU has held a decisive advantage on the boards, out-rebounding the opposition, 366-308. Leading the way for FIU is redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles, who is averaging 9.3 rebounds-per-contest. Following Buckles is senior Tymell Murphy, who is grabbing 8.7 boards-per-game.

A Little Home Cookin'
FIU is in its 29th season playing at U.S. Century Bank Arena where the Panthers are 209-169 all-time. FIU has had 17 winning seasons at home at U.S. Century Bank Arena, including a perfect 13-0 mark during the 1992-93 campaign.

U.S. Century Bank Arena
Opened - Feb. 1, 1986
Capacity - 5,000
Overall Record - 209-169
Total Games - 378
Largest Crowd - 4,638 (Michigan -11/23/98)
Most Points - 123 (Palm Beach Atlantic - 11/25/95)

Versus the Sun Belt
The Panthers game versus Georgia State will mark the team's 185th game against a team from the Sun Belt Conference (SBC). FIU is 62-122 all-time versus members of the SBC and holds a 8-8 mark all-time versus the Panthers.

Raining Threes
Entering Saturday's game versus Georgia State, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 154-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 608-career points.