MIAMI (Nov. 17, 2014) – FIU will open its road schedule with a trip to DeLand, Fla., on Tuesday to take on the Stetson Hatters. Tip time is slated for 7 p.m. and the game can be watched on ESPN3.

THE GAME: The Panthers will be looking to knock off their first road opponent for the second-straight year after FIU defeated its first road foe in Kennesaw State last season, 66-58. This will be the third consecutive year that the Panthers take on Stetson, marking their second trip to DeLand, Fla., in three years, where FIU earned an 82-79 victory in 2012. FIU owns a 13-6 lead in the series after earning a 75-66 victory over the Hatters on Nov. 18, 2013 on Lime Court at FIU Arena. The series history, consisting of 19 matchups, consists of 14 games that occurred when the squads were part of the Trans America Athletic Conference. FIU was 9-5 in those games.  

SCOUTING STETSON: Stetson enters Tuesday's contest with a 1-1 overall record. The Hatters are coming off a 64-55 defeat at UCF on Sunday evening, after defeating Edward Waters, 75-61, on Friday night at home. Through two games, Stetson is averaging 65.0 points-per-game and has two players that are averaging double-figures. Leading the way for the Hatters is Brian Pegg, who is averaging 14.5 points-per-contest and to go along with 5.5 rebounds. A force inside, Pegg is shooting 81.3 percent from the field through two games and is averaging 29.0 minutes-per-game. The Hatters top guard through two games has been Angel Rivera, who is averaging 10.0 points and has posted a team-high nine assists. Rivera is the team's top three-point shooter, hitting 3-of-7 shots from beyond the arc, shooting at a .429 clip.

LAST TIME OUT: FIU handed the Florida College Falcons a convincing, 64-42, loss on Friday night as part of the Panthers' season opener from Lime Court at FIU Arena. Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz made a strong impact in his first game in an FIU uniform, as the Miami native notched 11 points on a 5-of-7 night from the floor, which included three momentum-changing dunks, two of which came in the first half. The Kansas State transfer also collected a career-high five blocks in the effort. Senior Dennis Mavin led the Panthers offense, finishing with 17 points off an 8-of-11 night, while posting a career-high 10 boards. It marked the Gainesville, Fla., native's first-career double-double. Sophomore Dominique Williams was FIU's third double-digit scorer, as he shot 5-of-6 for a career-high11 points.

ROAD GAMES: FIU will be making its road game debut with Stetson on Tuesday. The Panthers last season won its first game against a road opponent, knocking off Kennesaw State on Nov. 10, 2013. With a victory on Tuesday, it will mark the first time the Panthers have ever won their first game against a road opponent in back-to-back seasons. In nine road games at Stetson, the Panthers hold an all-time advantage of 6-3. FIU finished the 2013-14 season with a 5-8 road record, with two of those wins coming against non-conference opponents.

vs. NON-CON: Coming off a 64-42 victory over Florida College, the Panthers enter Tuesday's contest with a 1-0 record in non-conference action. FIU went 8-7 in non-conference games last year, including a home-court win against Florida Gulf Coast (72-61 on Dec. 7, 2013) and a home-court loss to No. 6/4 Louisville (85-56 on Dec. 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. 

2-0 STARTS: With a victory over Stetson, FIU will earn its first 2-0 start since the 2010-11 season, when the Isiah Thomas coached Panthers opened the season with victories over Florida Memorial and Barry. There are also seven different occasions where an FIU team started the season with two victories. Those squads include 2008-09, 2002-03, 1998-99, 1988-89, 1986-87, 1984-85, 1983-84. The 2002-03 and the 1983-84 teams each started their seasons 4-0.  

vs. THE ATLANTIC SUN: FIU has had plenty of success vs. Atlantic Sun teams, hoisting a 22-9 record against those opponents. In fact, the Panthers have won three-straight games against A-Sun opponents and four of the last five. Last season, FIU picked up three wins over Florida Gulf Coast, Stetson and Kennesaw State to go a perfect 3-0 against the conference. This year, the Panthers will face four teams from the A-Sun including Stetson (11/18), USC Upstate (11/27), Kennesaw State (12/2) and Florida Gulf Coast (12/14).

PANTHERS TALLY 21 ASSISTS AGAINST FLORIDA COLLEGE: As a team, FIU posted 21 assists in Friday's 64-42 victory over Florida College, marking the most for the Panthers since getting 22 dimes vs. Florida College last season on Nov. 14, 2013. Junior Tashawn Desir led the way with seven assists in his first career game in an FIU uniform.  Meanwhile, redshirt sophomore Ray Rodriguez (4) and sophomore Dominique Williams (3) each set career-highs for assists. Five of FIU's 10 players in the contest had at least three assists. 

MAVIN POSTS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE vs. FALCONS: Senior guard Dennis Mavin scored 17 points and posted a career-high 10 rebounds as the Gainesville native tallied his first career double-double. Mavin is the first FIU guard to get a double-double since DeJuan Wright had seven during the 2011-12 season for the Panthers.

NEXT UP: The Panthers will return to Lime Court at FIU Arena, on Friday, Nov. 21 to take on the Florida Memorial Lions. This will be the first matchup between the two crosstown schools since the 2010 season. In the last matchup on Nov. 12, 2010, the Panthers earned an 89-73 victory over Florida Memorial at FIU Arena. FIU holds a 12-5 all-time advantage over the Lions, which includes a five-game winning streak for the Panthers, dating back to the 1988 season. FIU is 8-3 all-time in Miami vs. Florida Memorial. 

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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/.