Photo Credit: Sam Lewis

FIU Game Notes (PDF)

FIU (13-16, 5-9 C-USA) vs Tulane (16-13, 8-6 C-USA)

Teams - FIU Panthers (13-16 overall, 8-6 home); Tulane Green Wave (16-13 overall, 4-5 away)
Date - Sunday, March 2, 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 Sunday's game with an overall record of 13-16 (5-9 C-USA) following a 78-66 loss at Southern Miss on Thursday, Feb. 27. Tulane enters Sunday's game with a 16-13 (8-6 C-USA) record following a 72-64 win vs. Florida Atlantic on Wednesday, Feb. 26.
Rankings - FIU is not ranked in either poll. Tulane is not ranked in either poll.
FIU Head Coach Anthony Evans - Coach Evans (St. Thomas Aquinas '94) enters Sunday's contest with a career record of 112-110 (.505 - seventh season overall) and 13-16 at FIU (.448 - first season).
Tulane Head Coach Ed Conroy - Coach Conroy (The Citadel '89) enters Sunday's contest with a career record at Tulane of 64-61 (.512 - fourth season).
Series History - Sunday's game between FIU and Tulane will mark the first-ever meeting between the two teams.
Officials - Announced on game day.

Panthers Host Green Wave on Senior Day
The FIU men's basketball team (13-16, 5-9 C-USA) will host the Tulane Green Wave (16-13, 8-6 C-USA) in the squad's final home game of the 2013-2014 season on Sunday, March 2. Tipoff is set for 2:00 p.m. from Lime Court at FIU Arena. Prior to the contest, FIU will recognize its seniors, Steven Miro, Tymell Murphy, Rakeem Buckles, Ivan Jurkovic and George Naldjieff, who will be playing in the final home game of their Panther careers.

FIU is coming off a 78-66 loss at Southern Miss on Thursday. A 12-point, halftime deficit proved to be too much to overcome as the Panthers dropped their fourth-straight. The Panthers, which scored 43 points in the second half, were led by junior Marco Porcher Jimenez, who posted a career-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor and 5-of-8 from 3-point range. Porcher Jimenez also grabbed a career-best six rebounds. Murphy notched the game's only double-double, scoring 13 points and registering 11 rebounds. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native also tallied four steals, three blocked shots and a season-high seven assists. Also scoring in double-figures for FIU was redshirt sophomore Cody Mann, who added 13 points on 3-of-8 shooting from the field.

Shooting 15-of-23 (65.2 percent) from the floor in the second half, FIU was able to even the point total of Southern Miss as both squads put up 43 points in the final 20 minutes of action. The Panthers drained seven of their nine treys in the second half and converted 6-of-8 from the charity stripe in the final stanza. However, a slow start to the game put FIU in an early hole as the Panthers came into the second half down by 12.

FIU entered halftime down 35-23. Led by Murphy' six points and eight rebounds, the Panthers shot 34.6 percent (9-of-26) from the floor and 20.0 percent (2-of-10) from beyond the arc in the first 20 minutes of action.

For the game, FIU converted 49.0 percent from the floor (24-of-49) and 40.9 percent from 3-point range (9-of-22). Southern Miss finished the game shooting 45.8 percent from the floor (27-of-59), including 4-of-14 from downtown (28.6 percent). The Golden Eagles held a 36-29 advantage on the boards and out-scored the Panthers in the paint, 46-26.

The Panthers enter this Sunday's action averaging 68.3 points-per-game, while shooting 44.5 percent from the floor and 30.4 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 66.4 percent of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 70.8 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 43.2 percent from the floor. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 1056-1010, averaging 36.4 boards-per-contest.

Leading the Panthers in scoring is Murphy, who comes into Sunday's contest, averaging 16.7 points-per-game (No. 4 in the conference) on 58.2 percent shooting from the floor (No. 5 in the conference and No. 16 in the nation). The Brooklyn, N.Y., native is averaging 7.4 rebounds-per-contest (No. 7 in the conference). Leading the team in rebounding (8.6 rpg – No. 4 in the conference) is Buckles, who ranks No. 51 in the nation on the boards and is No. 14 in the conference in scoring (13.4 ppg).

FIU – Tulane Series History
Sunday's game between FIU and Tulane will mark the first-ever meeting all-time between the two teams.
    - FIU is 5-4 versus first-time opponents this season.
    - FIU owns a 36-67 mark versus teams from the current C-USA.
    - FIU is 9-7 in games played in the state of Florida this season.
    - FIU is 1-1 in games played on Sundays this season.
    - FIU owns a 3-4 home record in C-USA action this season.
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans has never faced the Green Wave.

An FIU Victory Would....
    - Improve FIU's record to 14-16.
    - Give FIU a 6-9 record in conference play.
    - Improve FIU's record versus Tulane to 1-0.
    - Give FIU a 9-6 record in home games in '13-'14.
    - Give FIU a record of 1-0 in the month of March.
    - Improve Head Coach Anthony Evans' career record to 113-110.
    - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 14-16.
    - Improve FIU to 37-67 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).

Lights Out
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Sunday's game shooting 58.2 percent (185-of-318) from the floor which ranks No. 5 in the conference and No. 16 nationally. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native's 58.2 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 57.7 percent from the floor (381-of-660) good for No. 1 all-time at FIU.

400+ for Murphy
With Tymell Murphy's 13 points versus Southern Miss, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native has scored 484 points this season. That is currently the seventh-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.

Top 10 in Boards
Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles enters Sunday's contest with 250 rebounds this season. That's good for the fifth-most in school history for boards in a season. The Miami native is one rebound away from moving to No. 4 on the all-time list (Hector Rodriguez – 251 in 1985-86).

More from the 300 Club
Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles has totaled 388 points this season, marking the 68th time a Panther has scored 300-or-more points in a single season. His 388 points are the 31st-most in a single season at FIU. Redshirt junior Dennis Mavin has also reached the 300-point plateau, having scored 335 points this season. Mavin is the 69th player to score 300-or-more points in a season and his 335 points are the 54th-most in a single season.

Get That Outta Here!
The FIU men's basketball team has totaled 125 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 (4.31).

Raining Threes
Entering Sunday's game versus Tulane, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 174-straight games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2008.

First-Time Opponents
With the Panthers' 78-66 loss at Southern Miss on Thursday, Feb. 27, FIU has notched a 5-4 record versus first-time opponents this season.

Movin' On Up
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Sunday's game with 952-career points. Currently ranked No. 8 all-time on the FIU scoring list, Murphy is averaging 16.7 points-per-game on 58.2 percent shooting from the floor. Murphy is 13 points shy of moving to No. 7 all-time (Raja Bell, 965 pts. – 1997-1999).

Career Blocks
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Sunday's contest having recorded 80 career blocked shots. The total ranks No. 3 all-time in FIU history and is 10 blocks shy of the No. 2 spot -  Russell Hicks (2007-2008).

Now That's Impressive
Through 29 games this season, senior Tymell Murphy has notched nine 20-point outings, while redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles has recorded 20-or-more points five times and redshirt junior Dennis Mavin has recorded one for a total of 15 times. Last year, the 20-point plateau was hit 14 times.