Photo Credit: Sam Lewis (pictured - Head Coach Anthony Evans)

FIU Game Notes (PDF)

FIU (11-10, 3-3 C-USA) at Charlotte (13-7, 4-3 C-USA)

Teams - FIU Panthers (11-10 overall, 3-5 away); Charlotte 49ers (13-7 overall, 8-2 home)
Date - Saturday, Feb. 1, 2014
Location - Charlotte, N.C.
Arena - Halton Arena (9,105)
Tickets - 704-687-4949
Television - WCCB (Charlotte) - Ryan Rose (play-by-play) and Dave Odom (color analyst) will call the action.
Twitter - @FIUMensBBall
Facebook - FIUMensBBall
Live Video Streaming - www.Charlotte49ers.com
Live Stats - www.Charlotte49ers.com
Records - FIU enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 11-10 (3-3 C-USA) following an 80-68 loss at Marshall on Thursday, Jan. 30. Charlotte enters Saturday's game with a 13-7 (4-3 C-USA) record following a 62-53 win versus Florida Atlantic on Thursday, Jan. 30.
Rankings - FIU is not ranked in either poll. Charlotte 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 110-104 (.514 - seventh season overall) and 11-10 at FIU (.523 - first season).
Charlotte Head Coach Alan Major - Coach Major (Purdue '92) enters Saturday's contest with a career record at Charlotte of 57-56 (.504 - fourth season).
Series History - Saturday's game between FIU and Charlotte will mark the first-ever between the two teams.
Officials - Announced on game day

Panther Tangle with 49ers on Saturday
The FIU men's basketball team (11-10, 3-3 C-USA) travels to Charlotte, N.C., to take on the Charlotte 49ers (13-7, 4-3 C-USA) on Saturday, Feb. 1. Tipoff is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and will be broadcast locally in the Charlotte area on WCCB. Ryan Rose (play-by-play) and Dave Odom (color analyst) will call the action.

The Panthers will be facing the 49ers for the first time and will be looking to rebound from an 80-68 loss at Marshall on Thursday, Jan. 31.

Senior Tymell Murphy scored a career-high 29 point in the loss. Murphy, who converted 12-of-19 from the floor, notched his eighth 20-point outing of the season and the 16th of his career. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native became the 13th player in FIU history with 800-or-more career points with his performance this evening. Murphy's 29 points gives the 6-foot-5 forward 825 for his FIU career. Murphy also recorded eight rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot.
 
Also scoring in double-figures were redshirt junior Dennis Mavin (12 points) and redshirt sophomore Cody Mann (10 points). Mavin notched three assists and two steals, while Mann grabbed a career-high nine rebounds and dished out a team-high four assists.
 
The Panthers finished the night shooting 45.2 percent from the floor (28-of-62) and converted 4-of-21 (19.0 percent) from 3-point range. The Thundering Herd shot 50.9 percent from the floor (29-of-57), including 6-of-17 from beyond the arc (35.3 percent).
 
The Panthers held a 36-32 edge on the boards, out-scoring Marshall 18-10 in second-chance points.

The Panthers enter this Saturday's action averaging 68.0 points-per-game, while shooting 44.8 percent from the floor and 29.8 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 66.3 percent of its attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 69.6 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 41.8 percent from the floor. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 803-718, averaging 38.2 boards-per-contest.

Leading the Panthers in scoring is Murphy, who comes into Saturday's contest, averaging 17.0 points-per-game (No. 4 in the conference) on 60.4 percent shooting from the floor (No. 2 in the conference and No. 10 in the nation). The Brooklyn, N.Y., native is averaging 8.0 rebounds-per-contest (No. 8 in the conference). Leading the team in rebounding (8.9 rpg – No. 4 in the conference) is redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles, who ranks 45 in the nation on the boards and is No. 17 in the conference in scoring (13.0 ppg).

FIU – Charlotte Series History
Saturday's game between FIU and Charlotte will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
    - FIU owns a 34-61 mark versus teams from the current C-USA.
    - FIU is 3-6 in games played outside the state of Florida this season.
    - FIU is 5-4 on games played on Saturdays this season.
    - FIU owns a 1-2 road record in C-USA action this season.
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans has never faced the 49ers.

An FIU Victory Would....
    - Improve FIU's record to 12-10.
    - Give FIU a 4-3 record in conference play.
    - Snap a two-game road losing skid for the Panthers.
    - Improve FIU's record versus Charlotte to 1-0.
    - Give FIU a 4-5 record in road games in '13-'14.
    - Give FIU a record of 1-0 in the month of February.
    - Improve Head Coach Anthony Evans' career record to 111-104.
    - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 12-10.
    - Improve FIU to 35-61 all-time versus C-USA.
    - Give FIU its 388th win (actual on-court record).
    - Give FIU its 304th Division I win (actual on-court record).
    - Improve FIU to 4-6 in games played outside the state of Florida this season.

29 for No. 15
Senior Tymell Murphy scored a career-high 29 points on 12-of-19 shooting at Marshall on Thursday, Jan. 31. It marked the 37th time an FIU player had scored 29-or-more points in a contest.  

300+ for Murphy
With Tymell Murphy's 29 points at Marshall, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native has scored 357 points this season. That is currently the 43rd-most by an FIU player in a single season and it's the 67th time a Panther has scored 300-or-more points in a season.

“Mann”-ing the Boards
Redshirt sophomore Cody Mann grabbed a career-high nine rebounds at Marshall on Thursday, Jan. 31.  

Lights Out
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Thursday's game shooting 60.1 percent (125-of-208) from the floor which ranks No. 2 in the conference and No. 15 nationally. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native's 60.1 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 58.4 percent from the floor (321-of-550) good for No. 1 all-time at FIU.

Raining Threes
Entering Saturday's game versus Charlotte, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 166-straight games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2008

Movin' On Up
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Saturday's game with 825-career points. Currently ranked No. 13 all-time on the FIU scoring list, Murphy is averaging 17.0 points-per-game on 60.4 percent shooting from the floor. Murphy is 32 points shy of moving to No. 12 all-time (Darius Cook – 856 pts. – 1997-2000).

Career Blocks
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Saturday's contest having recorded 69 career blocked shots. The total ranks No. 6 all-time in FIU history and is three blocks shy of the No. 5 spot -  Hector Rodriguez (1984-1986).