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

FIU Game Notes (PDF)

FIU (8-5) at Georgetown (7-3)

Teams - FIU Panthers (8-5 overall, 2-1 away); Georgetown Hoyas (7-3 overall, 5-0 home)
Date - Saturday, Dec. 28, 2013
Location - Washington, D.C.
Arena - Verizon Center (20,600)
Tickets - 202-687-4692
Television - FOX Sports 1 - John Sadak (play-by-play) and Ron Thompson (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.GUHoyas.com (GameTracker)
Records - FIU enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 8-5 following an 85-56 loss to Louisville on Saturday, Dec. 21. Georgetown enters Saturday's game with a 7-3 record following an 86-64 loss at Kansas on Saturday, Dec. 21.
Rankings - FIU is not ranked in either poll. Georgetown 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 107-99 (.519 - seventh season overall) and 8-5 at FIU (.615 - first season).
GU Head Coach John Thompson III - Coach Thompson (Princeton '88) enters Saturday's contest with a career record at Georgetown of 216-92 (.701 - ninth season).
Series History - Saturday's game between FIU and GU will mark the fourth meeting all-time between the two teams with the Hoyas leading the series history, 3-0. The last meeting between the two squads resulted in a 76-38 win for Georgetown on Dec. 23, 2008 in Washington, D.C.
Officials - Announced on game day

FIU Visits Nation's Capital to Take on Georgetown
The FIU Panthers (8-5) look to rebound from an 85-56 loss to Louisville on Saturday, Dec. 21, with a Dec. 28 meeting versus Georgetown (7-3) in our nation's capital. Tipoff is set for 12:02 p.m. and will broadcast live on FOX Sports 1. The game marks the third-straight contest for the Panthers on FS1.

FIU, 3-3 in its last six outings, is coming off a 29-point loss to the defending national champion Cardinals. Senior Tymell Murphy had a team-high 16 points on a 6-of-8 shooting performance, making it the 16th time this season and the 40th time in his career that he's scored double-digit points. Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles recorded 13 points and came one rebound shy of a double-double, while also going a perfect 4-of-4 from the line. It's the 10th time this season the Miami native has scored at least 10 points in a game and the 17th time of his career. Sophomore Jerome Frink added 10 points, going 3-of-7 from the floor and hitting all but one free-throw (3-of-4).  

FIU comes into Saturday's contest averaging 71.1 points-per-game, while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and 32.4 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 69.4 percent of its attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 67.5 points-per-game (No. 6 in the conference) as the opposition is shooting 40.3 percent from the floor (No. 4 in the conference). The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 531-430, averaging 40.8 boards-per-contest. FIU's 531 total rebounds ranks No. 9 the nation. The Panthers have also recorded 63 total blocked shots (No. 2 in the conference).

Leading the Panthers offensively is Murphy, who comes into Saturday's game averaging 16.2 points-per-game (No. 9 in the conference). Buckles is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.5 points-per-game (No. 14 in the conference) and leads the team in rebounding 10.4 boards-per-game (No. 1 in the conference and No. 11 in the nation). Murphy ranks No. 5 in the conference in rebounds, grabbing 8.1 boards-per-contest. Both Murphy and Buckles have combined for 240 total rebounds and 46 total blocks  – the most by any duo on the same team in C-USA  in both categories this season.

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

    - GU leads the series history, 3-0     
    - The last meeting between FIU and Georgetown resulted in a 76-38 win for Georgetown on Dec. 23, 2008, in Washington, D.C.
    - FIU is 0-13 all-time versus teams from the BIG EAST Conference.
    - Saturday will mark FIU's third trip to Washington, D.C. to face the Hoyas (0-2).
    - The Panthers are looking for their first-ever victory over a team from the BIG EAST.
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans has never faced the Hoyas.

An FIU Victory Would....

    - Improve FIU's record to 9-5.
        - Improve FIU's non-conference record to 9-5.
    - Give FIU its first win over a team from the BIG EAST.
        - Improve FIU's record versus GU to 1-3
         - Give FIU a 3-1 record in road games in '13-'14.
        - Give FIU a record of 2-2 in the month of December.
        - Improve Head Coach Anthony Evans' career record to 108-99.
        - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 9-5.
        - Give FIU its 385th win (actual on-court record).
        - Give FIU its 301st Division I win (actual on-court record).
    - Improve FIU to 3-3 in games played outside of the state of Florida.
    - Improve FIU to 3-2 in games on television.
    - Improve FIU to 2-1 in games on FOX Sports 1.

On This Pace
Through 13 games, FIU is averaging 40.8 rebounds-per-game. That is currently the second-highest average in school history. The school record for rebounding average is 41.9 rpg (1982-1983 season). Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles is averaging 10.4 rebounds-per-game, good for 135 total boards this season. That average is the third-highest for a Panther in a single season.

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 8-5 with two more non-conference contest remaining.

Career Blocks
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Saturday's contest having recorded 59 career blocked shots. The total ranks tied for No. 8 with Dominique Ferguson (2010-2012) all-time in FIU history. Murphy is four blocks shy of tying Brandon Moore (2010-2012) at No. 7 (63).

Dynamic Duo
Seniors Tymell Murphy and Rakeem Buckles enter Saturday's game with Georgetown having combined for 46 blocked shots (23 – 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). The two have also combined for a conference-best 240 rebounds (105 - Murphy; 135 - Buckles).

Hot Start
Through 13 games, FIU is 8-5, having won eight of the team's last 11 games. The eight wins also marks the best start through the first 13 games for a first-year head coach at FIU as Anthony Evans has recorded a 8-5 mark to begin his Panther coaching career.

Buckles Taking Care of the Boards
Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles registered a career-high 17 rebounds versus Georgia State on Saturday, Nov. 30. The Miami native's season total for rebounds is 135, good for No. 1 in the conference and No. 4 in the nation.

Versus the BIG EAST Conference
The Panthers game versus Georgetown will mark the team's 14th game against a team from the BIG EAST Conference. FIU is 0-13 all-time versus members of the BIG EAST and holds an 0-3 mark all-time versus the Hoyas

Raining Threes
Entering Saturday's game versus Georgetown, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 158-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 during the squad's 66-58 win at Kennesaw State. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native enters Saturday's contest with 679-career points.