MIAMI (Nov. 13, 2014) – The FIU men's basketball team opens its 34th season and its second season under Head Coach Anthony Evans on Friday at 7:30 p.m. vs. Florida College on Lime Court at FIU Arena. It will be the second-straight year the two schools have met. FIU owns a 1-0 lead in the series after earning a decisive 85-39 victory over the Falcons on Nov. 14, 2013 at FIU Arena. FIU has won two of its last four season openers, dating back to the 2010 season.

SEASON OPENER: FIU has won two of its last four season openers dating to 2010. In season openers, the Panthers have tallied a 19-14 record. The Panthers' last two victories in season openers came on Nov. 14, 2011 vs. George Mason and Nov. 12, 2010 vs. Florida Memorial. Friday's contest with the Falcons will mark the 34th home opener for the FIU men's basketball program. The Panthers own a 26-7 mark all-time in home-opening games and have won nine of the last 10.

vs. NON-CON: FIU went 8-7 in non-conference games last year, including a home-court win against Florida Gulf Coast (72-61 on December 7, 2013) and a home-court loss to No. 6/4 Louisville (85-56 on December 21, 2013). Of the seven losses, two resulted in five points or less and five came away from the friendly confines of Lime Court at FIU Arena. FIU picked up wins away from home at Kennesaw State, vs. Warren Wilson and at Bethune-Cookman. Three of FIU's non-conference losses came at South Carolina, vs. Louisville and at Georgetown.

THE SCHEDULE: FIU's schedule will feature 12 homes games on Lime Court at FIU Arena, three of those games being non-conference foes. The Panthers also will face Louisville, a squad that reached the Sweet 16 in last year's NCAA Tournament. In addition, FIU will take on cross-state rival Florida Gulf Coast and will play in a tournament hosted by USC Upstate during the Thanksgiving holiday. FIU's schedule features eight opponents that reached postseason competition last season including Louisville (NCAA), Louisiana Tech (NIT), FGCU (NIT), Southern Miss (NIT), Wright State (CIT), USC Upstate (CIT), Old Dominion (CBI) and UTEP (CBI).

34 YEARS OF BASKETBALL ON THE WEST SIDE: The 2014-15 men's basketball season marks the program's 34th year. FIU began men's basketball during the 1981-82 season. That year, led by Head Coach Rich Walker, the Panthers finished 11-16. Including Walker, the program has had eight head coaches including Bob Weltlich (1990-95), Shakey Rodriguez (1995-00), Donnie Marsh (2000-04), Sergio Rouco (2004-09), Isiah Thomas (2009-12), Richard Pitino (2012-13) and Anthony Evans (2013-present).

PANTHERS LOOKING TO REPEAT THE BLOCK PARTY: During the 2013-14 campaign, the Panthers were dominant defensively in the paint, blocking 130 shots, which is the second most for an FIU team in a single season in the program record books. The Panthers finished fourth in the conference last season with a 4.19 blocks-per-game average. FIU set a school record for blocked shots in a single game, recording 11 versus UAB on Feb. 6, 2014. The Panthers had tied the previous mark of 10 earlier in the season, when they had 10 on Nov. 18, 2013 vs. Stetson.
 
THE (BASKETBALL) CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS: FIU's roster is quite spread out, as the team consisting of 15 players features players from 10 different states or countries. Of those 15, three have come from the New York City area. Juniors Tashawn Desir and Michael Phillip each hail from Brooklyn, while sophomore Jason Boswell comes from the Bronx. The tri-state area background is much deeper with FIU's squad as Head Coach Anthony Evans grew up in Brooklyn and Director of Operations Jarret Lockhart is a Bronx native as well.

WHERE'S THE BEACH?!: FIU gained lots of national attention last season after Lime Court at FIU Arena floor was resurfaced with a one-of-a-kind beach themed look. Due to structural damage to the floor that occurred during the offseason, FIU will be using a temporary floor during the 2014-15 season covering up the beach themed court. The floor comes from the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., which was used for the 2014 NCAA Tournament. Following the conclusion of this season, the floor will be replaced and the beach-themed court will return.

RAINING THREES: Entering Friday's contest with the Falcons, FIU has converted at least one three-point field goal in 176-straight games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2008. Senior guard Dennis Mavin also comes into the game making a three in nine-straight games dating back to Feb. 6, 2014 versus UAB. During that streak, Mavin is shooting 12-for-30 from beyond the arc.

NEW C-USA FORMAT THIS SEASON: The 2015 Conference USA Men's Basketball season will see two notable changes from a year ago. C-USA will play an 18-game regular season for the first time in the league's history. Also, the 2015 C-USA Championship will return to a 12-team, four-day format. The 2014 Championship in El Paso was a five-day format featuring all eligible teams.

SOCIALIZING WITH THE PANTHERS: Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUMensBBall on Twitter, and "Like" FIU men's basketball on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/FIUMensBBall) for the latest Panther basketball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.