MIAMI (Nov. 23, 2014) -- Winners of three-straight, the FIU men's basketball team (3-0) hits the road for four games this week, starting with a Monday matchup versus Georgia Southern at 7 p.m.

THE GAME: The Panthers will begin a four-game road expedition with a trip to Georgia Southern on Nov. 24. This will be the third all-time matchup between the two schools and the first since the 1992 season. Georgia Southern holds a 2-0 series advantage with both of those victories coming during the 1992 season when both schools were members of the Trans American Athletic Conference. In the last matchup on Feb. 2, 1992, the Eagles earned a convincing 95-71 victory over FIU in Statesboro, Ga. The first matchup earlier that season was much closer, as FIU fell 78-72 on its home court.
 
LAST TIME OUT: For the first time since the 2002-03 season, FIU started its season with three-straight wins, as the Panthers handed the Florida Memorial Lions a 74-48 loss on Friday night. Senior Dennis Mavin led the Panthers' offense with a team-high 19 points (8-of-14), while going 3-of-6 from the charity stripe. Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz knotted the first double-double of his career, posting 10 points and a game-high 11 boards, which is also a career-high for the center. Redshirt sophomore Ray Rodriquez added 13 points and went a perfect 6-of-6 from the free-throw line. FIU finished the night shooting 53.3 percent and held Florida Memorial to under 35 percent from the floor. The Panthers were able to force a season-high 21 turnovers, which resulted in 24 points. FIU's bench was able to provide depth, as it chipped in a season-high 26 points.
 
FIU OFF TO FIRST 3-0 START SINCE 2002: With a victory over Florida Memorial, FIU earned its first 3-0 start since the 2002-03 season, when the Donnie Marsh coached Panthers opened the season with victories over Morris Brown, Iona and Florida Gulf Coast. This is the third different occasion where an FIU team started the season with three victories. The other instance it happened was the 1983-84 season. The 2002-03 and 1983-84 squads both won their first four games of the season.
 
vs. NON-CON: Coming off a 74-48 victory over Florida Memorial, the Panthers enter Friday's contest with a 3-0 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 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.

vs. THE SUN BELT: FIU holds an all-time record of 56-92 versus Sun Belt schools, a conference it was a member of just two years ago. The Panthers have never faced Georgia Southern though when it has been a member of the Sun Belt. The two times these schools faced was when they were both members of the TAAC.
 
SCOUTING GEORGIA SOUTHERN: The Eagles enter this Monday's contest with a 2-1 overall record, winners of their last two. Georgia Southern is most recently coming off a 97-41 victory over Jonson University on Saturday night and an 86-49 win over Trinity College last Tuesday. The Eagle opened the season on Nov. 14 with an 80-71 loss at Illinois. Leading the way for the squad is Jelani Hewitt, who leads the team in scoring, averaging 18.7 points through the first three games to go along with a team best 5.7 assists-per-game. Angel Matias leads the team in scoring, averaging 11.0 boards-per-game.
 
NEXT UP: The Panthers will head to Spartanburg, S.C., beginning on Thanksgiving Day to participate in the Spartanburg Marriot Upstate Classic, hosted by the USC Upstate Spartans. FIU will play USC upstate on Thursday, Wright State on Friday and Cal State Fullerton on Saturday. All three games can be seen on ESPN3. Thursday will be the first ever matchup between FIU and USC Upstate. On Friday, the Panthers and Wright State will face off for the first time as well. Cal State Fullerton won the only matchup between the two schools in 2007, a 74-57 victory in Miami.
 
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 Google+ (FIU Athletics), 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/.