MIAMI (Nov. 26, 2014) – FIU men's basketball (3-1) opens the Spartanburg Marriott Upstate Classic on Thanksgiving Day as it will take on the USC Upstate Spartans. All three games that FIU will play in this week's tournament will be on ESPN3.

THE GAME: The Panthers continue a four-game road expedition with a trip to the Spartanburg Marriott Upstate Classic, hosted by the USC Upstate Spartans. FIU will open up tournament play on Thanksgiving Day with a 3:30 p.m. matchup with the host team Spartans. This will be the first-ever meeting between the two schools. The Panthers will turn around on Friday and face the Wright State Raiders at 3:30 p.m. This will also mark the first time these two schools face off. Tournament action concludes on Saturday, when FIU will take on Cal State Fullerton at 3:30 p.m. The Panthers and Titans have met once, coming in 2005 when Cal State Fullerton earned a 74-57 victory in Miami.

LAST TIME OUT: Senior Adrian Diaz scored a career-high 33 points, but that was not enough, as the FIU men's basketball team fell to Georgia Southern on Monday night, 78-72. The Panthers drop to 3-1 on the young season.Diaz stuffed the stat sheet, draining 33 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 37 minutes of action, while going 12-of-16 from the field. Junior Daviyon Draper was the team's second leading scorer, checking in with nine points. Junior Tashawn Desir was strong for the Panthers defensively, recording a career-high six steals to lead the Panthers. Senior Marco Porcher Jimenez and redshirt sophomore Ray Rodriguez each had two threes a piece for the Panthers. FIU trailed by just two with 1:27 to go, but the Eagles made their free throws down the stretch to secure a 78-72 victory.

vs. THE CONFERENCES: The Spartanburg Marriott Upstate Classic features opponents from the Atlantic Sun, the Horizon League and the Big West. FIU's Thursday opponent, the Spartans, are a member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, a league that has four opponents on the Panthers' schedule (Stetson, USC Upstate, Kennesaw State and Florida Gulf Coast). FIU has a 22-9 all-time record against teams from the A-Sun. When the Panthers face Wright State on Friday, it will be the 17th time FIU has faced a Horizon League opponent. FIU has a 3-13 all-time record against teams from that conference. FIU will close the tournament with the Titans of Cal State Fullerton, a member of the Big West Conference. The Panthers are 1-1 against teams from the Big West.

vs. NON-CON: Coming off a 78-72 defeat at Georgia Southern, the Panthers enter the Thanksgiving Day contest against the Spartans with a 3-1 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.

DIAZ HAS CAREER NIGHT AT GEORGIA SOUTHERN: Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz scored a career-high 33 points at Georgia Southern. The Miami native stuffed the stat sheet, draining 33 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks in 37 minutes of action, while going 12-of-16 from the field. Diaz' 33 points in a game rank tied for seventh in program history and it was the most points for an FIU player in a single game since DeJuan Wright netted 35 points versus South Alabama on Feb. 25, 2012. Meanwhile, his 12 made field goals mark the third time in the last two seasons that FIU player has made 12 field goals in a game. Tymell Murphy drained 12 field goals in games vs. North Texas and at Marshall last season.

FIU EARNS 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. Those 2002-03 and 1983-84 squads both won their first four games of the season.

NEXT UP: Following the three-day Spartanburg Marriott Upstate Classic, FIU will return to the friendly confines of Lime Court at FIU Arena on Dec. 2, hosting Kennesaw State in its final home non-conference game. This will mark the fourth time these two schools face off, as FIU brings a 3-0 all-time record against the Owls into Tuesday's contest. Last season, the Panthers earned a 66-58 victory at Kennesaw State. After the matchup with the Owls, FIU will begin an eight-game road stretch starting with Louisville on Dec. 5. 

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/.