Photo Credit: Sam Lewis (pictured -senior Tymell Murphy)

FIU Game Notes (PDF)

FIU (13-12, 5-5 C-USA) at UTEP (18-7, 8-2 C-USA)

Teams - FIU Panthers (13-12 overall, 4-6 away); UTEP Miners (18-7 overall, 12-4 home)
Date - Saturday, Feb. 15, 2014
Location - El Paso, Texas
Arena - Don Haskens Center (12,000)
Tickets - (915) 747-6150
Television - N/A
Twitter - @FIUMensBBall
Facebook - FIUMensBBall
Live Video Streaming - www.UTEPAthletics.com (Miner TV)
Live Stats - www.UTEPAthletics.com (Gametracker)
Records - FIU enters Saturday's game with an overall record of 13-12 (5-5 C-USA) following an 80-72 win at UTSA on Thursday, Feb. 13. UTEP enters Saturday's game with a 18-7 (8-2 C-USA) record following a 71-69 loss vs. Florida Atlantic on Thursday, Feb. 13.
Rankings - FIU is not ranked in either poll. UTEP is not ranked in either poll.
FIU Head Coach Anthony Evans - Coach Evans (St. Thomas Aquinas '94) enters Saturday's contest with a career record of 112-106 (.514 - seventh season overall) and 5-5 at FIU (.500- first season).
UTEP Head Coach Tim Floyd - Coach Floyd (Louisiana Tech '77) enters Saturday's contest with a career record at UTEP of 76-48 (.613 - fourth season).
Series History - Saturday's game between FIU and UTEP will mark the third meeting between the two teams with the Miners owning a 2-0 edge in the series history. The last meeting between the two teams resulted in an 88-81 win for the Miners on Jan. 1, 2000, in Miami, Fla.
Officials - Announced on game day.

Panthers Head to El Paso to Take on UTEP
Coming off an 80-72 win over UTSA on Thursday, Feb. 13, the FIU men's basketball team (13-12, 5-5 C-USA) heads to El Paso, Texas, to take on the UTEP Miners (18-7, 8-2 C-USA) on Saturday, Feb. 15. Tipoff is slated for 9:05 p.m. ET.

On Thursday, five Panthers scored in double-figures, led by redshirt junior Dennis Mavin, who posted 16 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the floor. Senior Tymell Murphy added 13 points, while redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles (12), freshman Dominique Williams (11) and redshirt sophomore Cody Mann (10) all reached double-digits in scoring. Buckles corralled a team-high 10 boards to register his 11th double-double of the season.

For the game, FIU shot 48.2 percent (27-of-56) from the floor and 38.1 percent (8-of-21) from 3-point range. Defensively, the Panthers held UTSA to 39.7 percent (23-of-58) from the floor and 16.7 percent (3-of-18) from beyond the arc. The Roadrunners held a 37-31 edge on the boards, while FIU forced 13 turnovers, resulting in 14 points for the Panthers.

The Panthers enter this Saturday's action averaging 68.6 points-per-game, while shooting 45.1 percent from the floor and 30.7 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 66.0 percent of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 70.0 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 42.4 percent from the floor. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 937-856, averaging 37.5 boards-per-contest.

Leading the Panthers in scoring is Murphy, who comes into Saturday's contest, averaging 16.3 points-per-game (No. 6 in the conference) on 58.6 percent shooting from the floor (No. 5 in the conference and No. 18 in the nation). The Brooklyn, N.Y., native is averaging 7.6 rebounds-per-contest (No. 8 in the conference). Leading the team in rebounding (9.0 rpg – No. 3 in the conference) is Buckles, who ranks No. 38 in the nation on the boards and is No. 16 in the conference in scoring (13.6 ppg).

FIU – UTEP Series History
Saturday's game between FIU and UTEP will mark the third meeting all-time between the two teams.
    - FIU trails in the series history 0-2.
    - The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 88-81 win for the Miners on Jan. 2, 2000, in Miami, Fla.
    - FIU is 0-1 all-time versus the Miners in El Paso, Texas.
    - FIU owns a 36-63 mark versus teams from the current C-USA.
    - FIU is 4-7 in games played in outside the state of Florida this season.
    - FIU is 5-6 on games played on Saturdays this season.
    - FIU owns a 2-3 road record in C-USA action this season.
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans is 0-1 all-time versus UTEP.

An FIU Victory Would....
    - Improve FIU's record to 14-12.
    - Give FIU a 6-5 record in conference play.
    - Give FIU two-straight road wins.
    - Improve FIU's record versus UTEP to 1-2.
    - Give FIU a 5-6 record in road games in '13-'14.
    - Give FIU a record of 3-2 in the month of February.
    - Improve Head Coach Anthony Evans' career record to 113-106.
    - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 14-12.
    - Improve FIU to 37-63 all-time versus C-USA.
    - Give FIU its 390th win (actual on-court record).
    - Give FIU its 306th Division I win (actual on-court record).
    - Improve FIU to 5-7 in games played outside the state of Florida this season.

400+ for Murphy
With Tymell Murphy's 13 points at UTSA, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native has scored 408 points this season. That is currently the 23rd-most by an FIU player in a single season and it's the 25th time an FIU player has reached the 400-point plateau and 67th time a Panther has scored 300-or-more points in a season.

Get That Outta Here!
The FIU men's basketball team has totaled 111 blocked shots this season. That is good for No. 4 all-time in school history. The Panthers are currently No. 3 in the conference in blocks-per-game (4.54) and rank No. 68 nationally.

Lights Out
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Saturday's game shooting 58.6 percent (157-of-268) from the floor which ranks No. 5 in the conference and No. 18 nationally. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native's 58.6 percent from the floor is the sixth-highest shooting percentage by a Panther in a single season in FIU basketball history. For his career, Murphy is shooting 57.9 percent from the floor (353-of-610) good for No. 1 all-time at FIU.

More from the 300 Club
Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles has totaled 339 points this season, marking the 68th time a Panther has scored 300-or-more points in a single season. His 339 points are the 51st-most in a single season at FIU.

Raining Threes
Entering Saturday's game versus UTEP, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 170-straight games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2008.

Movin' On Up
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Saturday's game with 876-career points. Currently ranked No. 10 all-time on the FIU scoring list, Murphy is averaging 16.3 points-per-game on 58.6 percent shooting from the floor. Murphy is seven points shy of moving to No. 9 all-time (Ivan Almonte, 883 pts. – 2004-2006).

Career Blocks
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Saturday's contest having recorded 74 career blocked shots. The total ranks No. 3 all-time in FIU history and is 16 blocks shy of the No. 2 spot -  Russell Hicks (2007-2008).