Photo Credit: Alex Hernandez (pictured - redshirt sophomore Cody Mann)

FIU Game Notes (PDF)

FIU (13-15, 5-8 C-USA) at Southern Miss (23-5, 10-3 C-USA)

Teams - FIU Panthers (13-15 overall, 4-7 away); Southern Miss Golden Eagles (23-5 overall, 13-0 home)
Date - Thursday, Feb. 27, 2014
Location - Hattiesburg, Miss.
Arena - Reed Green Coliseum (8,095)
Tickets - 1-800-844-TICK
Television - CSS - Richard Cross (play-by-play) and Bobby Cremins (color analyst) will call the action. CSS Channel 63 (SDTV); CSS Channel 486 (HDTV)
Twitter - @FIUMensBBall
Facebook - FIUMensBBall
Live Video Streaming - N/A
Live Stats - www.SouthernMiss.com (Gametracker)
Records - FIU enters Thursday's game with an overall record of 13-15 (5-8 C-USA) following a 77-65 loss to Tulsa on Saturday, Feb. 22. Southern Miss enters Thursday's game with a 23-5 (10-3 C-USA) record following a 77-68 win vs. UTEP on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Rankings - FIU is not ranked in either poll. Southern Miss 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 112-109 (.507 - seventh season overall) and 5-8 at FIU (.384 - first season).
Southern Miss Head Coach Donnie Tyndall - Coach Tyndall (Morehead State '93) enters Thursday's contest with a career record at Southern Miss of 50-15 (.769 - second season).
Series History - Thursday's game between FIU and USM will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Officials - Announced on game day.

FIU Travels to Hattiesburg for Thursday Night Contest with Southern Miss
The FIU men's basketball team (13-15, 5-8 C-USA) travels to Hattiesburg, Miss., to take on the Southern Miss Golden Eagles (23-5, 10-3 C-USA) on Thursday, Feb. 27. The contest is set for 7:00 p.m. ET and will air on CSS with Richard Cross (play-by-play) and Bobby Cremins (color analyst) calling the action.

The Panthers are looking to snap a three-game losing skid following a 77-65 loss to Tulsa on Saturday, Feb. 22.

Senior Tymell Murphy led all scorers with 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds. Redshirt junior Dennis Mavin added 18 points going 3-of-6 from the floor and 11-of-14 from the free-throw line, while redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles poured in 10 point and grabbed six rebounds.

The Panthers finished the afternoon shooting 34.5 percent (19-of-55) from the floor and were 5-of-15 from the beyond the arc (33.3 percent). Tulsa ended the contest, shooting 45.7 percent from the floor (21-of-46) and drained 4-of-12 from downtown (33.3 percent). Tulsa out-rebounded FIU, 46-27, and held a 30-24 edge in points in the paint. A 15-3 run by Tulsa to start the second half gave the Golden Hurricane a lead they would never relinquish. Ultimately, Tulsa out-scored FIU 49-30 in the final 20 minutes to erase a seven point Panther lead at the half.

The Panthers enter this Thursday's action averaging 68.4 points-per-game, while shooting 44.4 percent from the floor and 29.8 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 66.6 percent of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 70.5 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 43.1 percent from the floor. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 1027-974, averaging 36.7 boards-per-contest.

Leading the Panthers in scoring is Murphy, who comes into Thursday's contest, averaging 16.8 points-per-game (No. 4 in the conference) on 58.3 percent shooting from the floor (No. 6 in the conference and No. 16 in the nation). The Brooklyn, N.Y., native is averaging 7.3 rebounds-per-contest (No. 8 in the conference). Leading the team in rebounding (8.9 rpg – No. 2 in the conference) is Buckles, who ranks No. 38 in the nation on the boards and is No. 14 in the conference in scoring (13.6 ppg).

FIU – Tulsa Series History
Thursday's game between FIU and Southern Miss will mark the first-ever meeting all-time between the two teams.
    - FIU is 5-3 versus first-time opponents this season.
    - FIU owns a 36-66 mark versus teams from the current C-USA.
    - FIU is 4-8 in games played outside the state of Florida this season.
    - FIU is 5-4 on games played on Thursdays this season.
    - FIU owns a 2-4 road record in C-USA action this season.
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans has never faced the Golden Eagles.

An FIU Victory Would....
    - Improve FIU's record to 14-15.
    - Give FIU a 6-8 record in conference play.
    - Improve FIU's record versus Southern Miss to 1-0.
    - Give FIU a 5-7 record in road games in '13-'14.
    - Give FIU a record of 3-5 in the month of February.
    - Improve Head Coach Anthony Evans' career record to 113-109.
    - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 14-15.
    - Improve FIU to 37-66 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).

Top 10 in Boards
Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles enters Thursday's contest with 249 rebounds this season. That's good for the fifth-most in school history for boards in a season. The Miami native is two rebounds away from moving to No. 4 on the all-time list (Hector Rodriguez – 251 in 1985-86).

400+ for Murphy
With Tymell Murphy's 19 points versus Tulsa, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native has scored 471 points this season. That is currently the 12th-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 121 blocked shots this season. That is good for No. 2 all-time in school history. The Panthers are currently No. 4 in the conference in blocks-per-game (4.32).

Lights Out
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Thursday's game shooting 58.3 percent (179-of-307) from the floor which ranks No. 6 in the conference and No. 16 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 (375-of-649) good for No. 1 all-time at FIU.

More from the 300 Club
Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles has totaled 381 points this season, marking the 68th time a Panther has scored 300-or-more points in a single season. His 381 points are the 33rd-most in a single season at FIU. Redshirt junior Dennis Mavin has also reached the 300-point plateau, having scored 330 points this season. Mavin is the 69th player to score 300-or-more points in a season and his 330 points are the 56th-most in a single season.

Raining Threes
Entering Thursday's game versus Southern Miss, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 173-straight games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2008.

There's No Place Like Home
The FIU Panthers have found success at home. So far this season, FIU has compiled a 8-6 record at home and is scoring 66.9 points-per-game on 44.8 percent shooting, while holding the opposition to 65.3 points-per-game on 40.6 percent shooting from the floor.

First-Time Opponents
With the Panthers' 78-73 win over UAB on Thursday, Feb. 6, FIU improved to 5-3 versus first-time opponents this season.

Movin' On Up
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Thursday's game with 939-career points. Currently ranked No. 8 all-time on the FIU scoring list, Murphy is averaging 16.8 points-per-game on 58.3 percent shooting from the floor. Murphy is 26 points shy of moving to No. 7 all-time (Raja Bell, 965 pts. – 1997-1999).

Career Blocks
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Thursday's contest having recorded 77 career blocked shots. The total ranks No. 3 all-time in FIU history and is 13 blocks shy of the No. 2 spot -  Russell Hicks (2007-2008).