MIAMI (Dec. 1, 2014) - The FIU basketball team (4-3) welcomes the Kennesaw State Owls (3-4) to Lime Court at FIU Arena on Tuesday evening. Tip time is set for 7:30 p.m.

THE GAME: FIU returns 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. In that contest with the Owls on Nov. 10, 2013, four players reached double-figures in scoring to mark the first at FIU for Head Coach Anthony Evans and the 100th of his career. Rakeem Buckles scored 20 points for the second-straight game, and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his third-straight double-double.

LAST TIME OUT: FIU dropped its final game of the Spartanburg Marriott Invitational on Saturday afternoon with a 64-61 loss to the Cal State Fullerton Titans. Senior guard Dennis Mavin posted his second-straight 20-point game in the loss, putting up 20 tallies to go along with three assists and two steals. Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz scored 15 points and grabbed eight rebounds while blocking two shots. Sophomore Dominique Williams tallied 11 points and pulled in seven rebounds in 30 minutes of action. FIU was held to 38.9 percent from the field for the game, while CSF shot 42.9 percent from the floor. After being outscored by nine points in the first half, FIU came out stronger in the second half and got within two of the Titans. The Panthers outscored CSF by a count of 34-28 in the second stanza.

SCOUTING KENNESAW STATE: Winners of their last three games, the Owls come to Miami with a 3-4 overall record, but 0-4 in road games. Kennesaw State opened the season with losses at Syracuse, at California, at Mercer and at North Dakota State. The Owls' last three games have all resulted in victories over Alcorn State, Samford and Chattanooga. Leading the way for the Owls is Yonel Brown, who is averaging 14.0 points-per-game and 2.3 rebounds-per-game to go along with 19 assists and 10 steals. Right behind Brown in the scoring department is Nigel Pruitt, who is averaging 13.7 points go along with 4.1 rebounds, four blocks and six steals. As a team, Kennesaw State is averaging 66.6 points-per-game but allowing an average of 77.7 points to its opponents. The Owls are shooting a .421 clip through their first seven games.

vs. THE ATLANTIC SUN: FIU has had plenty of success vs. Atlantic Sun teams, hoisting a 23-10 record against those opponents. In fact, the Panthers have won four of five games against A-Sun opponents and five of the last seven. Through two games against teams from the A-Sun this season, the Panthers are 1-1, most recnetly dropping a 68-53 loss at USC Upstate on Thanksgiving Day. FIU's win over an A-Sun team came in a one-point, 53-52 victory at Stetson on Nov. 18. 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' schedule features four teams from the A-Sun including Stetson (11/18), USC Upstate (11/27), Kennesaw State (12/2) and Florida Gulf Coast (12/14).

vs. NON-CON: Coming off a 64-61 defeat versus Cal State Fullerton in the Spartanburg Marriott Upstate Classic, the Panthers enter Tuesday's contest against the Owls with a 4-3 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.

STRONG DEFENSE LEADING THE WAY FOR FIU: A major point of emphasis in FIU's success this year has been its play on the defensive side to the ball. The Panthers have held their opponents to 60 points or less in four of seven games and over 70 points just once in a 78-72 loss at Georgia State. Through December 1, FIU currently ranks second in Conference USA and 52nd in the country in scoring defense, allowing 57.8 points-per-game. The Panthers have done an exceptional job at guarding the basket, holding opponents to just 37.5 percent shooting from the field, which ranks second in the conference. Teams have found little success shooting from long-distance against FIU as the Panthers are allowing opponents to shoot 24.0 percent from three-point range, good for second in C-USA and 10th nationally. FIU's 7.7 steals-per-game also currently sits first in the conference.

EIGHT-GAME ROAD TRIP LOOMS AHEAD FOR THE PANTHERS: Following Tuesday's game at Kennesaw State, FIU will begin an eight-game road trip starting at Louisville on Dec. 5 and ending at UAB on Jan. 10. Following Tuesday's contest, FIU will begin a stretch of 44 days where it will be away from Lime Court at FIU Arena, as the Panthers' next home game is not until Jan. 15 versus Marshall. This is by far the longest stretch away from home in school history for FIU. The previous long was 38 days during the 2009-10 season when the Panthers went from Nov. 23 to Dec. 31, 2009 without playing at FIU Arena.

MAVIN FORCES OT, MATCHES CAREER-HIGH vs. WRIGHT STATE: Senior guard Dennis Mavin matched his career-high in points with 24, which included a game-tying layup with four seconds remaining in regulation, to help lift FIU to a 61-59 overtime victory over the Wright State Raiders on Nov. 28. To go along with his 24 points, Mavin grabbed nine rebounds and three steals in 37 minutes of action.

NEXT UP: Following the matchup with the Owls, FIU will begin an eight-game road trip, consisting of 44 days away from home. The Panthers will kick off the road slate versus No. 6/5 Louisville at the 22,000-seat KFC YUM! Center on Dec. 5. The game can be seen on Fox Sports South. This will mark the fourth time these two schools face off, as the Cardinals bring a 3-0 all-time record against the Panthers into Friday's contest. Last season, Louisville earned a 85-56 victory in its first-ever trip to Lime Court at FIU Arena.

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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/.