THE GAME: FIU will opens its second season of Conference USA play as it travels to Florida Atlantic on Jan. 4 at 2 p.m. The Panthers are 19-15 all-time against the Owls, recently earning a 74-70 victory in Boca Raton on March 6, 2014 to earn the season sweep over their intra-state rivals. In that game, FIU trailed by as many as 16 points. The Panthers were led by Dennis Mavin, who posted 23 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the floor and was a perfect 10-of-10 from the free-throw line. Rakeem Buckles added 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting.

vs. CONFERENCE USA: FIU holds a 42-95 all-time record against current schools in Conference USA. The most wins FIU has earned against any school in the league is 19 against Florida Atlantic, with the majority of those coming in Sun Belt action. The Panthers have also earned seven wins against Middle Tennessee and six wins over Western Kentucky, both schools that were also former SBC members. 

WIN OVER RATTLERS MAKES FIU 5-0 VERSUS THE SUNSHINE STATE: FIU picked up a 76-55 victory over Florida A&M on Monday  night at the Al Lawson Center. Redshirt junior Adrain Diaz led the way for the Panthers scoring 19 points, with 15 of them coming in the second half, and grabbing seven rebounds. Mavin had a nice outing as well, scoring 16 points, dishing out five assists and grabbing two steals in 35 minutes of action. Mavin and senior Marco Porcher Jimenez each made three shots from beyond the three-point arc. With the victory, FIU improves to 5-0 this season against teams inside the State of Florida. FIU still has two more matchups with Florida Atlantic to round up its seven games against Sunshine State schools.

SCOUTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC: Winners of two-straight and six of its last seven games, the Owls return to Boca Raton for the first time since Dec. 20, when they edged Eastern Kentucky, 69-66. Florida Atlantic most recently won in deciding fashion at Jacksonville, 68-50, on Dec. 30. As a team, the Owls are shooting at a .437 clip while averaging 63.1 points-per-game. Strong from the charity stripe, Florida Atlantic is shooting above .665 from the line, averaging 11.2 free-throws-per-game. Florida Atlantic also boasts a tough back-court, as Michael Curry's team is first in the nation in allowed three-point shots, holding opponents to just 23 percent from beyond the arc. Leading the way for the Owsl' offense is Marquan Botley, who's averaging 12.6 points-per-game and is posting a .740 average from the free-throw line. Also heavily involved in the offense is Jackson Trapp, who's netting 11.7 points-per-game and has a team-high 12 steals. The Owls' defensive leader is Justin Raffington, who's pulling in a team-high 7.3 boards-per-game, while Kevin Penn is a close second with 6.9 rebounds-per-contest.

NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Owls, the Panthers will continue their eight-game road trip as they travel to Middle Tennessee on Thursday for an 8 p.m. matchup with the Blue Raiders. Thursday's game between FIU and Middle Tennessee will mark the 32nd meeting all-time between the two teams. FIU trails in the series history 24-7. Last season, FIU fell to Middle Tennessee 70-68 in Miami. Mavin poured in 15 points 5-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from downtown. Buckles added 12 points and six boards, while Tymell Murphy scored 11 points and recorded five rebounds. 

Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUMensBBall on Twitter, and "Like" FIU men's basketball on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/FIUMensBBall) for the latest Panther basketball news. Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).

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About FIU Athletics: FIU Athletics is home to more than 400 student-athletes in 18 different sports. Athletic events are played in seven different venues on FIU's campuses (Modesto A. Maidique and Biscayne Bay), including FIU Arena and Ocean Bank Field at FIU Stadium.

About FIU: Florida International University is recognized as a Carnegie engaged university. It is a public research university with colleges and schools that offers more than 180 bachelor's, master's and doctoral programs in fields such as engineering, international relations, architecture, law and medicine. As one of South Florida's anchor institutions, FIU contributes $9.8 billion each year to the local economy. FIU is Worlds Ahead in finding solutions to the most  challenging problems of our time. FIU emphasizes research as a major component of its mission. FIU has awarded over 200,000 degrees and enrolls more than 54,000 students in two campuses and three centers including FIU Downtown on Brickell, FIU@I-75, and the Miami Beach Urban Studios. FIU also supports artistic and cultural engagement through its three museums: the Patricia & Phillip Frost Art Museum, the Wolfsonian-FIU, and the Jewish Museum of Florida-FIU. FIU is a member of Conference USA and has over 400 student-athletes participating in 18 sports. For more information about FIU, visit http://www.fiu.edu/.