Photo Credit: Sam Lewis

FIU Game Notes (PDF)

FIU (13-13, 5-6 C-USA) vs. North Texas (12-13, 3-8 C-USA)

Teams - FIU Panthers (13-13 overall, 8-4 away); North Texas Mean Green (12-13 overall, 3-6 away)
Date - Thursday, Feb. 20, 2014
Location - Miami, Fla.
Arena - FIU Arena (5,000)
Tickets - 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263)
Television - N/A
Twitter - @FIUMensBBall
Facebook - FIUMensBBall
Live Video Streaming - PantherVision (www.FIUSports.com)
Live Stats - www.FIUSports.com
Records - FIU enters Thursday's game with an overall record of 13-13 (5-6 C-USA) following an 84-71 loss at UTEP on Saturday, Feb. 15. North Texas enters Thursday's game with a 12-13 (3-8 C-USA) record following a 53-51 win vs. East Carolina on Saturday, Feb. 15.
Rankings - FIU is not ranked in either poll. North Texas is not ranked in either poll.
FIU Head Coach Anthony Evans - Coach Evans (St. Thomas Aquinas '94) enters Thursday's contest with a career record of 112-107 (.512 - seventh season overall) and 5-6 at FIU (.455- first season).
North Texas Head Coach Tony Benford - Coach Benford (Texas Tech '92) enters Thursday's contest with a career record at North Texas of 24-33 (.421 - second season).
Series History - Thursday's game between FIU and North Texas will mark the 17th meeting between the two teams with the Mean Green owning a 12-4 edge in the series history. The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 77-67 win for the Mean Green on Feb. 9, 2013, in Denton, Texas.
Officials - Announced on game day.

North Texas Comes to FIU Arena on Thursday
The FIU men's basketball team (13-13, 5-6 C-USA) will host the North Texas Mean Green (12-13, 3-8 C-USA) on Thursday, Feb. 20. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m. ET.

The Panthers are coming off an 84-71 loss at UTEP on Thursday, Feb. 15. Despite trailing by 18 points at halftime, the Panthers would manage to cut the Miner lead to seven in the second half, but UTEP closed the game strong in the final minutes.

Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles led the way for the Panthers with 19 points and six rebounds in 37 minutes of action. Senior Tymell Murphy and redshirt junior Dennis Mavin each netted 13 points, while sophomore Jerome Frink chipped in 11 points. UTEP shot 57.1 percent from the floor for the contest, while FIU was held to 42.6 percent shooting. The Miners also drained seven threes, while FIU netted four.

The Panthers enter this Thursday's action averaging 68.7 points-per-game, while shooting 45.0 percent from the floor and 30.1 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 66.3 percent of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 70.5 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 42.8 percent from the floor. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 966-891, averaging 37.2 boards-per-contest.

Leading the Panthers in scoring is Murphy, who comes into Thursday's contest, averaging 16.2 points-per-game (No. 6 in the conference) on 58.3 percent shooting from the floor (No. 5 in the conference and No. 19 in the nation). The Brooklyn, N.Y., native is averaging 7.4 rebounds-per-contest (No. 8 in the conference). Leading the team in rebounding (8.8 rpg – No. 4 in the conference) is Buckles, who ranks No. 43 in the nation on the boards and is No. 13 in the conference in scoring (13.8 ppg).

FIU – North Texas Series History
Thursday's game between FIU and North Texas will mark the 17th meeting all-time between the two teams.
    - FIU trails in the series history 4-12.
    - The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 76-66 win for the Mean Green on Feb. 9, 2013, in Denton, Texas.
    - FIU is 2-5 all-time versus the Mean Green in Miami, Fla.
    - FIU owns a 36-64 mark versus teams from the current C-USA.
    - FIU is 9-5 in games played in the state of Florida this season.
    - FIU is 5-3 on games played on Thursdays this season.
    - FIU owns a 3-2 home record in C-USA action this season.
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans has never faced the Mean Green.

An FIU Victory Would....
    - Improve FIU's record to 14-13.
    - Give FIU a 6-6 record in conference play.
    - Improve FIU's record versus North Texas to 5-12.
    - Give FIU a 9-4 record in home games in '13-'14.
    - Give FIU a record of 3-3 in the month of February.
    - Improve Head Coach Anthony Evans' career record to 113-107.
    - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 14-13.
    - Improve FIU to 37-64 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 10-5 in games played in the state of Florida this season.

400+ for Murphy
With Tymell Murphy's 13 points at UTEP, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native has scored 421 points this season. That is currently the 20th-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 114 blocked shots this season. That is good for No. 3 all-time in school history. The Panthers are currently No. 4 in the conference in blocks-per-game (4.38).

Lights Out
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Thursday's game shooting 58.3 percent (161-of-276) from the floor which ranks No. 5 in the conference and No. 19 nationally. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native's 58.3 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 57.8 percent from the floor (357-of-618) good for No. 1 all-time at FIU.

More from the 300 Club
Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles has totaled 358 points this season, marking the 68th time a Panther has scored 300-or-more points in a single season. His 358 points are the 42nd-most in a single season at FIU.

Raining Threes
Entering Thursday's game versus North Texas, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 171-straight games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2008.

Movin' On Up
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Thursday's game with 889-career points. Currently ranked No. 9 all-time on the FIU scoring list, Murphy is averaging 16.2 points-per-game on 58.3 percent shooting from the floor. Murphy is 40 points shy of moving to No. 8 all-time (Dedric Taylor, 883 pts. – 1995-1997).

Career Blocks
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Thursday'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).

Dynamic Duo
Seniors Tymell Murphy and Rakeem Buckles enter Thursday's game with North Texas having combined for 77 blocked shots (39 – Buckles; 38 – Murphy). FIU currently ranks No. 4 in C-USA in total blocks (114). The two have also combined for a conference-best 423 rebounds (193 - Murphy; 230 - Buckles).

A Little Home Cookin'
FIU is in its 29th season playing at FIU Arena where the Panthers are 214-173 all-time. With eight wins at home this season, FIU has clinched a winning record at home this season. FIU has now had 18 winning seasons at home at FIU Arena, including a perfect 13-0 mark during the 1992-93 campaign.

FIU Arena
Opened - Feb. 1, 1986
Capacity - 5,000
Overall Record - 214-173
Total Games - 387
Largest Crowd - 4,638 (Michigan -11/23/98)
Most Points - 123 (Palm Beach Atlantic - 11/25/95)