MIAMI (Dec. 4, 2014) – The FIU men's basketball team (5-3) begins an eight-game road trip at No. 5/5 Louisville on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Fans can tune into the game on Fox Sports South.

THE GAME: FIU begins an eight-game road trip, consisting of 44 days away from home. The Panthers will kick off the road slate versus No. 5/5 Louisville at the 22,000-seat KFC YUM! Center on Dec. 5. The game can be seen on Fox Sports South and on ESPN3.com. 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. 

vs. THE ACC: FIU will be playing in its 39th all-time game against an ACC opponent, posting a 3-35 record against teams from that league. The Panthers three victories against the ACC have come over Florida State, Miami and Virginia Tech. FIU's last win over a team from the ACC took place 10 years ago, when the Panthers earned a 65-60 win over the Florida State Seminoles on Dec. 12, 2004. During the 1993 season, FIU went into Blacksburg, Va., and held the Hokies to just 44 points in a 57-44 victory on Feb. 8. FIU had a short-term string of success against teams, as it picked up wins in back-to-back years against the foes, starting when the Panthers earned a 72-64 victory over the Hurricanes across town in Coral Gables on Dec. 1, 1992. FIU will be playing its fourth game against an opponent from the ACC in the last three years. The Panthers lost to Boston College and Louisville in 2012, fell to Louisville at home in 2013 and travel to the KFC YUM! Center on Friday.

vs. NON-CON: Coming off a 59-38 victory over Kennesaw State on Tuesday, the Panthers enter Friday's contest against the Cardinals with a 5-3 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 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.

SCOUTING LOUISVILLE: Louisville enters Friday's contest with a perfect 6-0 record, including 5-0 in its home venue, the KFC YUM! Center. The Cardinals are most recently coming off a 64-55 victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes on Tuesday night. Louisville has also picked up victories over Big Ten opponent Minnesota and Conference USA's Marshall.  UofL is averaging 75.0 points-per-game while holding its opponents to an average of just 48.0. The Cardinals are strong on the defensive end and are good at getting after the basketball, as they are averaging 11.0 steals, ranking seventh in the nation. Louisville has produced double-digit steals in five of its six games this season. Leading the way for the Cardinals is Montrezl Harrell, who is averaging 16.7 points-per-game to go along with 9.0 rebounds. Louisville has four players that are averaging double-digits in scoring, as Terry Rozier, Wayne Blackshear, Chris Jones and Chinanu Onuaku join Harrell in that department.

FIU HOLDS KENNESAW STATE TO RECORD LOW 38 POINTS: In Tuesday's 59-38 victory over Kennesaw State, the Panthers' defense held Kennesaw State to a season low 38 points (27 percent, 14-of-52), the lowest in program history for any FIU opponent. The last time FIU held a team to less than 40 points in a game was Florida College on Nov. 14, 2013, when the Anthony Evans coached team held the Falcons to a then-opponent record low to 39 points. These two games are the only two instances in program history where FIU has held an opponent under 40 points in a game.

DRAPER DONS CAREER-HIGH IN WIN OVER OWLS: In Tuesday's win over Kennesaw State, junior Daviyon Draper had the best game of his career, scoring a career-high and game-high tying 16 points (7-of-13). The 16 points are the most in a Division I game for Draper. During his previous two seasons at Antelope Valley Community College, Draper did post a career-high 29 points at the junior college level. 

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 five of eight games and over 70 points just once in a 78-72 loss at Georgia State. Through Dec. 2, FIU currently ranks first in Conference USA and 26th in the country in scoring defense, allowing 56.1 points-per-game. The Panthers have done an exceptional job at guarding the basket, holding opponents to just 36.2 percent shooting from the field, which ranks first in the conference and 32nd nationally. Teams have found little success shooting from long-distance against FIU, as the Panthers are allowing opponents to shoot 23.2 percent from three-point range, good for second in C-USA and eighth in the country. FIU's 7.5 steals-per-game also currently sits first in the conference.

NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Cardinals, FIU will continue its eight-game road slate with a trip across the state of Florida to Fort Myers to take on the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles. The game can be seen on ESPN3.com. This will mark the seventh time these two schools have faced off, as the series is split dead even at three games apiece. Last season, FIU earned a 72-61 victory over the Eagles on Lime Court at FIU Arena. Senior Dennis Mavin was one of three players who scored in double figures in that game, scoring 19 points to go along with four rebounds.

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/.