Coming off the team's first home conference victory as a member of Conference USA, the FIU men's basketball team (10-9, 2-2 C-USA) will host intra-state rival Florida Atlantic (7-12, 2-2 C-USA) on Saturday, Jan. 25. Tipoff is set for 6:05 p.m. ET from Lime Court at U.S. Century Bank Arena and will be broadcast on CSS. Bernie Guenther (play-by-play) and Brian Oliver (color analyst) will call the action.  

The Panthers moved to 2-2 in conference action following a 68-64 win over East Carolina on Saturday, Jan. 18. Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles and senior Tymell Murphy led the FIU offense, finishing with 18 points apiece. Buckles also notched his eighth double-double of the season, grabbing a team-high 11 boards. Redshirt junior Dennis Mavin also scored in double-digits, finishing the night with 10 points, going 3-of-5 from the floor and 3-of-4 from the line. Buckles also added a team-high four steals and one block.  

Saturday's game with the Owls will mark the 33rd installment of FIU's longest active rivalry. The long-time conference foes will be playing their first ever contest against one another as members of Conference USA.

The Panthers enter this Saturday's action averaging 68.2 points-per-game, while shooting 44.6 percent from the floor and 30.8 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 66.4 percent of its attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 69.7 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 41.5 percent from the floor. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 724-657, averaging 38.1 boards-per-contest.

Leading the Panthers in scoring is Murphy, who comes into Saturday's contest, averaging 16.5 points-per-game (No. 7 in the conference) on 60.5 percent shooting from the floor (No. 2 in the conference and No. 12 in the nation). The Brooklyn, N.Y., native is averaging 7.7 rebounds-per-contest (No. 9 in the conference) Leading the conference in rebounding (9.4 rpg) is Buckles, who ranks 31 in the nation on the boards and is No. 18 in the conference in scoring.
 
FIU – Florida Atlantic Series History
Saturday's game between FIU and Florida Atlantic will mark the 33rd meeting all-time between the two teams.
    - FIU leads the series history, 16-15 (17-15 - actual on-court record. FIU vacated one victory due to NCAA sanctions).
    - The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 77-60 win for the Owls on March 2, 2013, in Boca Raton, Fla.
    - Saturday will mark the first-ever meeting between the two schools as members of C-USA.
    - FIU and FAU have been conference foes in two other conferences (Sun Belt and TAAC).
    - FIU was 5-9 versus FAU in Sun Belt action and 4-2 in the TAAC.
    - FIU guard Dennis Mavin transferred from FAU to FIU following the 2011-2012 season.
    -    FIU owns a 33-60 mark versus teams from the current C-USA.
    - FIU is 7-4 in games played in the state of Florida this season.
    - FIU is 4-4 on games played on Saturdays this season.
    - FIU owns an 11-6 record at home all-time versus FAU.
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans has never faced the Owls.

An FIU Victory Would....
    - Improve FIU's record to 11-9.
    - Give FIU a 3-2 record in conference play.
    - Improve FIU's record versus Florida Atlantic to 18-15.
    - Give FIU a 7-3 record in home games in '13-'14.
    - Give FIU a record of 3-3 in the month of January.
    - Improve Head Coach Anthony Evans' career record to 110-103.
    - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 11-9.
    - Improve FIU to 34-60 all-time versus C-USA.
    - Give FIU its 387th win (actual on-court record).
    - Give FIU its 303rd Division I win (actual on-court record).
    - Improve FIU to 8-4 in games played in the state of Florida this season.
    - Give FIU its 213th win all-time at U.S. Century Bank Arena.
    - Give FIU its 256th win at home all-time.

Mavin Faces Former Team
Saturday's game versus Florida Atlantic will mark the first time Dennis Mavin will face his former team. Mavin, who transferred to FIU from FAU following the 2011-2012 season, played for the Owls for two seasons. The Gainesville, Fla., native averaged 5.1 points-per-game and 2.1 rebounds-per-contest in 60 games played.

Murphy Closes In
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Saturday's game with 782-career points. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native is six points shy of cracking the Top 15 all-time in points at FIU. Murphy is averaging 16.5 points-per-game on 60.5 percent shooting from the floor.

Lights Out
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Saturday's game with FAU shooting 60.5 percent (121-of-200) from the floor which ranks No. 2 in the conference and No. 12 nationally. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native's 60.5 percent from the floor is the third-highest shooting percentage by a Panther in a single season in FIU basketball history. For his career, Murphy is shooting 58.5 percent from the floor (317-of-542) good for No. 1 all-time at FIU.

First C-USA Victory at Home
On Saturday, Jan. 18, FIU picked up its first home conference victory as a member of C-USA with 68-64 win over East Carolina.

Career Blocks
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Saturday's contest having recorded 66 career blocked shots. The total ranks tied for No. 6 all-time in FIU history - Kenny Simms (2004-2006).

First Conference Victory
On Thursday, Jan. 9, the FIU men's basketball program picked up its first conference win as a member of Conference USA with a 71-60 win at Rice.

Mavin Ties School Record
During the Panthers 93-88 overtime loss at Florida A&M on Thursday, Jan. 2, redshirt junior Dennis Mavin went 16-of-25 from the free-throw line. The 16 made free throws tied the FIU school record for free throws made in a single game (DeJuan Wright vs. South Alabama – Feb. 25, 2012), while the 25 free-throw attempts set the school record for free-throw attempts in a contest.

Dynamic Duo
Seniors Tymell Murphy and Rakeem Buckles enter Saturday's game with FAU having combined for 58 blocked shots (28 – Buckles; 30 – Murphy). That is the most by any duo among all Conference USA teams. FIU currently ranks No. 2 in C-USA in total blocks (85). The two have also combined for a conference-best 325 rebounds (146 - Murphy; 179 - Buckles).

Raining Threes
Entering Saturday's game versus FAU, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 164-straight games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2008