Photo Credit: Sam Lewis (pictured - sophomore Jerome Frink)

FIU Game Notes (PDF)

FIU (8-4) vs. No. 6/4 Louisville (10-1)

Teams - FIU Panthers (8-4 overall, 5-1 home); Louisville Cardinals (10-1 overall, 0-0 away)
Date - Saturday, Dec. 21, 2013
Location - Miami, Fla.
Arena - U.S. Century Bank Arena (5,000)
Tickets - 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263)
Television - FOX Sports 1 - Adam Alexander (play-by-play) and Mike Gminski (color analyst) will call the action. Channel 70 (Cable); Channel 652 (SD)/1652 (HD) (AT&T U-verse); Channel 32 (SD) / 832 (HD) (Atlantic Broadband); Channel 732 (Comcast Xfinity); Channel 219 (SD/HD) (DirecTV); Channel 150 (SD/HD) (Dish Network).
Twitter - @FIUMensBBall
Facebook - FIUMensBBall
Live Video Streaming - N/A
Live Stats - www.FIUSports.com
Records - FIU enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 8-4 following a 72-61 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, Dec. 7. Louisville enters Saturday's game with a 10-1 record following a 90-60 win over Missouri State on Tuesday, Dec. 17.
Rankings - FIU is not ranked in either poll. UofL is No. 6 in this week's AP poll and No. 4 in this week's coaches poll.
FIU Head Coach Anthony Evans - Coach Evans (St. Thomas Aquinas '94) enters Saturday's contest with a career record of 107-98 (.522 - seventh season overall) and 8-4 at FIU (.667 - first season).
UofL Head Coach Rick Pitino - Coach Pitino (UMass '74) enters Saturday's contest with a career record at Louisville of 320-112 (.741 - 13th season).
Series History - Saturday's game between FIU and UofL will mark the third meeting all-time between the two teams with the Cardinals leading the series history, 2-0. The last meeting between the two squads resulted in a 79-55 win for UofL on Dec. 19, 2012 in Louisville, Ky.
Officials - Announced on game day

Panthers Host Defending National Champs
The FIU men's basketball team (8-4) welcomes defending national champion Louisville (10-1) to Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena on Saturday, Dec. 21. The game is slated for 6:07 p.m. and will be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 with Adam Alexander and Mike Gminski calling the action.

Ranked No. 6 (AP Top 25) and No. 4 (USA Today Coaches) in this week's national polls, Louisville will become the highest ranked opponent to visit U.S. Century Bank Arena and be the first-ever defending national champion to face the Panthers on their home court.

FIU is coming off a 72-61 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, Dec. 7. Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles notched his sixth double-double of the season and the ninth of his career, finishing with 11 points, on 4-of-13 shooting, while going 2-for-2 from the line. His 13 rebounds extend his streak to three-straight games with 10-or-more boards. Redshirt junior Dennis Mavin scored a career-high-tying 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, while hitting five of his seven shots from the line. Senior Tymell Murphy had a game-high 23 points, while going 10-for-10 from the charity stripe. It's the second time this season the Brooklyn, N.Y., native made at least 10-straight from the line. For Murphy, it's also fifth time this season and the 13th time of his career that he has scored at least 20 points. Sophomore Jerome Frink was one rebound shy of his season-high, as the Jersey City, N.J., native finished with seven boards and seven points.

FIU comes into Saturday's contest averaging 72.3 points-per-game, while shooting 46.1 percent from the floor and 32.6 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 69.5 percent of its attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 66.1 points-per-game (No. 2 in the conference) as the opposition is shooting 39.7 percent from the floor (No. 2 in the conference). The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 493-396, averaging 41.1 boards-per-contest. FIU's 493 total rebounds ranks No. 4 the nation. The Panthers have also recorded 60 total blocked shots (No. 2 in the conference)

Leading the Panthers offensively is Murphy, who comes into Saturday's game averaging 16.3 points-per-game (No. 11 in the conference). Buckles is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.7 points-per-game (No. 14 in the conference) and leads the team in rebounding 10.5 boards-per-game (No. 1 in the conference and No. 13 in the nation). Murphy ranks No. 6 in the conference in rebounds, grabbing 8.3 boards-per-contest. Both Murphy and Buckles have combined for 45 total blocks – the most by any duo in C-USA this season.

FIU – Louisville Series History
Saturday's game between FIU and Louisville will mark the third meeting all-time between the two teams.

    - UofL leads the series history, 2-0     
    - The last meeting between FIU and Louisville resulted in a 79-55 win for Louisville on Dec. 19, 2012, in Louisville, Ky.
    - FIU is 15-28 all-time versus teams from the American Athletic Conference.
    - At No. 6 in this week's AP poll, Louisville is the highest-ranked opponent to play FIU on its home court.
    - FIU is 0-3 all-time versus ranked opponents at home
    - Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
    - FIU has scored 55 point in each of the first two meetings with the Cardinals.
    - The Panthers are looking for their first-ever victory over a ranked opponent.
    - FIU senior Rakeem Buckles played three seasons for UofL before transferring to FIU in 2012-2013
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans has never faced the Cardinals.

An FIU Victory Would....

    - Improve FIU's record to 9-4.
    - Improve FIU's non-conference record to 9-4.
    - Give FIU its first win over a ranked opponent.
     - Improve FIU's record versus UofL to 1-2
     - Give FIU a 6-1 record in home games in '13-'14.
     - Give FIU a record of 2-1 in the month of December.
     - Improve Head Coach Anthony Evans' career record to 108-98.
     - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 9-4.
     - Improve FIU to 16-28 all-time versus the American Athletic Conference.
     - Give FIU its 385th win (actual on-court record).
     - Give FIU its 301st Division I win (actual on-court record).
     - Give FIU its 212th win all-time at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
     - Give FIU its 255th win at home all-time.
     - Improve FIU to 7-1 in games played in Florida this season.

Versus Ranked Opponents
The Panthers have challenged 21 Associated Press Top-25 teams in their existence with 18 of those games on the road (including one NCAA Tournament game). Saturday's contest with Louisville will mark the fourth time the Panthers will face a ranked opponent at U.S. Century Bank Arena.

Non-Conference Play
With FIU's 72-61 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Saturday, Dec. 7, the Panthers have secured a winning record in non-conference play this season. FIU is currently 8-4 with three more non-conference contest remaining.

Dynamic Duo
Seniors Tymell Murphy and Rakeem Buckles enter Saturday's game with Louisville having combined for 45 blocked shots (22 – Buckles; 23 – Murphy). That is the most by any duo among all Conference USA teams. FIU currently ranks No. 2 in C-USA in total blocks (60).

Hot Start
Through 12 games, FIU is 8-4, having won eight of the team's last 10 games. The eight wins also marks the best start through the first 12 games for a first-year head coach at FIU as Anthony Evans has recorded an 8-4 mark to begin his Panther coaching career.

Now That's Impressive
Through 12 games this season, senior Tymell Murphy has notched five 20-point outings, while redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles has recorded 20-or-more points three times. Last year, the 20-point plateau was hit 14 times.

Versus the American Athletic Conference
The Panthers game versus Louisville will mark the team's 44th game against a team from the American Athletic Conference (AAC). FIU is 15-28 all-time versus members of the American and holds an 0-2 mark all-time versus the Cardinals.

Raining Threes
Entering Saturday's game versus Louisville, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 157-straight games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2008.