Photo Credit: Alex Hernandez

FIU Game Notes (PDF)

FIU (14-16, 6-9 C-USA) at Florida Atlantic (10-20, 5-10 C-USA)

Teams - FIU Panthers (14-16 overall, 4-8 away); Florida Atlantic Owls (10-20 overall, 7-7 home)
Date - Thursday, March 6, 2014
Location - Boca Raton, Fla.
Arena - FAU Arena (5,000)
Tickets - 1-866-FAU-OWLS
Television - N/A
Twitter - @FIUMensBBall
Facebook - FIUMensBBall
Live Video Streaming - www.FAUSports.com
Live Stats - www.FAUSports.com (Gametracker)
Records - FIU enters Thursday's game with an overall record of 14-16 (6-9 C-USA) following a 73-47 win vs. Tulane on Saturday, March 2. Florida Atlantic enters Thursday's game with a 10-20 (5-10 C-USA) record following a 60-49 loss vs. Southern Miss on Sunday, March 2.
Rankings - FIU is not ranked in either poll. Florida Atlantic 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 113-110 (.507 - seventh season overall) and 14-16 at FIU (.467 - first season).
Florida Atlantic Head Coach Mike Jarvis - Coach Jarvis (Northeastern '68) enters Thursday's contest with a career record at FAU of 76-110 (.409 - sixth season).
Series History - Thursday's game between FIU and FAU will mark the 34th meeting all-time between the two teams with FIU holding a 17-15 edge in the series history (actual on-court record 18-15 - FIU vacated one victory due to NCAA sanctions). The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 66-57 win for the Panthers on Jan. 25, 2014, in Miami, Fla.
Officials - Announced on game day.

FIU Closes Out the 2013-2014 Season at Florida Atlantic
Coming off a 26-point win over Tulane in the squad's final home game of the season, the FIU men's basketball team (14-16, 6-9 C-USA) will travel to Boca Raton, Fla., to take on the Florida Atlantic Owls (10-20, 5-10 C-USA) on Thursday, March 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.

The Panthers defeated the Owls earlier this season, 66-57. Senior Tymell Murphy notched his eighth double-double of the season, leading the Panthers with 14 points and a team-high 14 boards. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native went 4-of-8 from the field and 6-of-7 from the line. Redshirt junior Dennis Mavin also added 14 points off a 5-of-9 performance from the field. Sophomore Jerome Frink (13) and redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles (12) also scored in double-digits. Frink had a season-high four steals, while Murphy added three. Murphy and freshman Dominique Williams also added two blocks each.

FIU is coming off a 73-47 win over the Tulane Green Wave on Sunday, March 2. Buckles scored a game-high 20 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbed a contest-best 11 rebounds for his conference-best 13th double-double of the season. The Miami native also tallied three assists and one blocked shot. Murphy contributed 19 points on 8-of-13 shooting to move into seventh place all-time on the FIU career scoring list (971 points). The Brooklyn, N.Y., native also recorded six rebounds, three assists and two blocked shots. Frink added 14 points on 6-of-12 shooting, while grabbing seven boards.

For the game, FIU shot 50.0 percent (27-of-54) from the floor and 50.0 percent (9-of-18) from beyond the arc. The Panthers notched 16 assists and were led by Mavin, who posted four. Defensively, FIU held Tulane to 36.2 percent from the floor (17-of-47), including a second half where the Green Wave converted just 6-of-29 from the field (20.7 percent). The 26-point victory was the most-decisive win for the Panthers this season as FIU finished the year with a 9-6 record at home.

The Panthers enter this Thursday's action averaging 68.5 points-per-game, while shooting 44.7 percent from the floor and 31.1 percent from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 66.5 percent of their attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 70.0 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 43.0 percent from the floor. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 1092-1038, averaging 36.4 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. 5 in the conference and No. 18 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. 3 in the conference) is Buckles, who ranks No. 44 in the nation on the boards and is No. 13 in the conference in scoring (13.6 ppg).

FIU – Florida Atlantic Series History
Thursday's game between FIU and Florida Atlantic will mark the 34th meeting all-time between the two teams.
    - FIU leads the series history 18-15.
    - The last meeting between the two teams resulted in a 66-57 win for FIU on Jan. 25, 2014 in Miami, Fla.
    - FIU 33 games versus FAU are the second-most versus an opponent all-time for the Panthers (35 - WKU)
    - FIU owns a 6-8 mark in Boca Raton versus the Owls all-time.
    - FIU owns a 37-67 mark versus teams from the current C-USA.
    - FIU is 10-7 in games played in the state of Florida this season.
    - FIU is 5-5 in games played on Thursdays this season.
    - FIU owns a 2-5 road record in C-USA action this season.
    - Head Coach Anthony Evans is 1-0 all-time versus the Owls.

An FIU Victory Would....
    - Improve FIU's record to 15-16.
    - Give FIU a 7-9 record in conference play.
    - Improve FIU's record versus Florida Atlantic to 19-15.
    - Give FIU a 5-8 record in road games in '13-'14.
    - Give FIU a record of 2-0 in the month of March.
    - Improve Head Coach Anthony Evans' career record to 114-110.
    - Improve Coach Evans' record at FIU to 15-16.
    - Improve FIU to 38-67 all-time versus C-USA.
    - Give FIU its 391st win (actual on-court record).
    - Give FIU its 307th Division I win (actual on-court record).

Lights Out
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Thursday's game shooting 58.3 percent (193-of-331) from the floor which ranks No. 5 in the conference and No. 18 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 (389-of-673) good for No. 1 all-time at FIU.

500+ for Murphy
With Tymell Murphy's 19 points versus Tulane, the Brooklyn, N.Y., native has scored 503 points this season. That is currently the sixth-most by an FIU player in a single season and marked the sixth time the 500-point mark had been surpassed at FIU, 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 Thursday's contest with 263 rebounds this season. That's good for the fourth-most in school history for boards in a season. The Miami native is 18 rebound away from moving to No. 3 on the all-time list (Ivan Almonte – 281 in 2005-06).

More from the 400 & 300 Clubs
Redshirt senior Rakeem Buckles has totaled 408 points this season, marking the 26th time the 400-point plateau has been reached and the 68th time a Panther has scored 300-or-more points in a single season. His 408 points are the 25th-most in a single season at FIU. Redshirt junior Dennis Mavin has also reached the 300-point plateau, having scored 344 points this season. Mavin is the 69th player to score 300-or-more points in a season and his 344 points are the 52nd-most in a single season.

Get That Outta Here!
The FIU men's basketball team has totaled 129 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 (4.30).

Raining Threes
Entering Thursday's game versus Florida Atlantic, the FIU Panthers have converted at least one 3-point basket in 175-straight games, dating back to Dec. 20, 2008.

First-Time Opponents
With the Panthers' 73-47 win versus Tulane on Sunday, March 2, FIU has notched a 6-4 record versus first-time opponents this season.

Movin' On Up
Senior Tymell Murphy enters Thursday's game with 971-career points. Currently ranked No. 7 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 79 points shy of moving to No. 6 all-time (Alex Galindo, 1,050 pts. – 2006-09).