THE GAME: The Panthers 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. Dennis Mavin poured in 15 points 5-of-7 shooting, including 2-of-3 from downtown. Rakeem Buckles added 12 points and six boards, while Tymell Murphy scored 11 points and recorded five rebounds. 
 

LAST TIME OUT: FIU opened up Conference USA play with a hard-fought 62-60 victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls in Boca Raton on Sunday. With the win, FIU has now won five of its last six against Florida Atlantic and improved to 6-0 this season versus schools from the State of Florida. Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz was dominant in the post, scoring 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, while grabbing 11 rebounds to record his second-career double-double. The Miami native also added five blocks in the game, matching his career-high and marking the third time  this season he has had five swats in a game. Senior Dennis Mavin scored 16 points in the win and added a career-high six assists, while sophomore Dominique Williams chipped in six points and matched his career-high in rebounds with nine.
 

vs. CONFERENCE USA: FIU holds a 43-95 all-time record against current schools in Conference USA. The most wins FIU has earned against any school in the league is 20 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. 
 

SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE: The Blue Raiders enter Thursday's contest on a two-game losing streak, resulting in a 7-7 overall record and an 0-1 mark in C-USA action. Middle Tennessee is coming off a 54-49 setback to UAB in its conference opener this past Sunday in Murfreesboro. Prior to the UAB contest, the Blue Raiders fell 64-48 at Auburn on Dec. 29. Middle Tennessee comes into Thursday's bout averaging 58.4 points-per-game while allowing an average of 59.8 points-per-game. The Blue Raiders have been strong on the glass all season, ranking second in C-USA in defensive rebounding (32.1) and fourth  in rebounding margin (2.1). Leading the way for Middle Tennessee offensively is Jacquez Rozier (9.0) and Reggie Upshaw (8.6). Upshaw is the Blue Raiders' leading rebounder, as he is averaging 6.2 boards-per-game. Upshaw is also one of the team's top defensive players, leading the Blue Raiders in steals (16) and blocks (13). JaQuel Richmond is Middle Tennessee's assists leader entering Thursday's game, averaging just under three dimes-per-contest.
 

DIAZ DOMINATES TO EARN SECOND DOUBLE-DOUBLE: In FIU's 62-60 victory over the Florida Atlantic Owls in Boca Raton on Sunday, redshirt junior Adrian Diaz was dominant in the post, scoring 27 points on 11-of-14 shooting, while grabbing 11 rebounds to record his second-career double-double. The Miami native also added five blocks in the game, matching his career-high and marking the third time this season he has had five swats in a game.
 

WHAT A COMBO!: Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz put up a 20-point effort for the second time in three games, pouring in 27 points, while senior guard Dennis Mavin added 16 points as FIU's top two scorers accounted for 43 of the Panthers' 62 points in the win at Florida Atlantic on Jan. 4. The tandem combined to shoot 18-of-29 (62 percent) from the floor and accounted for seven of FIU's eight makes from the charity stripe. They both exploded in the second half with Diaz collecting 17 of his points and Mavin 14 of his in the second 20 minutes, accounting for 31 of the Panthers' 34 points. The duo scored the first 31 points of the second half for FIU before junior Daviyon Draper hit a key jumper with 13 seconds remaining in regulation. Junior Tashawn Desir accounted for the other point, making a free throw with three seconds to play.
 

6-0 AGAINST THE SUNSHINE STATE: With two recent victories over Florida Atlantic and Florida A&M, the Panthers are now a perfect 6-0 versus the State of Florida. FIU picked up a 76-55 victory over Florida A&M on Dec. 29 at the Al Lawson Center to improve to 5-0 against teams from the Sunshine State. With a hard-fought 62-60 victory over Florida Atlantic on Sunday the Panthers improved to 6-0 against Flordia schools. Also with the win, FIU has now won five of its last six against Florida Atlantic. The Panthers have one more game remaining against a Florida School, FAU on Feb. 3.
 

NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Blue Raiders, FIU will continue its eight-game road trip as it travels to Birmingham, Ala. on Saturday afternoon for a 3 p.m. matchup with the UAB Blazers. Saturday's game between FIU and UAB will mark just the second meeting all-time between the two teams as the Panthers hold a 1-0 lead. Last season, FIU drained seven three-pointers and had four players score in double-digits, as the Panthers went on to defeat the Blazers, 78-73, in Miami. Rakeem Buckles notched a double-double, finishing with team-highs in points (21) and rebounds (11). 
 

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/.