THE GAME: FIU will cap off 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).

LAST TIME OUT: FIU had its two-game winning streak snapped as it fell to the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders by a score of 65-52 at Monte Hale Arena. Dennis Mavin eclipsed the 900-point plateau, as he netted a career-high 31 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with four made from beyond the arc, tying a career-best. Mavin also played a full 40 minutes for the first time in his career. He did play 43 minutes at Florida A&M last season, but that did not account for a complete game (overtime).Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz was 4-for-5 from the field, leading to eight points on the night. The Panthers shot 44.1 percent from the floor for the game, but turned the ball over 17 times. Middle Tennessee was strong from the field all night, as it shot at a 52.1 percent clip for the contest.

vs. CONFERENCE USA: FIU holds a 43-96 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.

MAVIN REACHES 900-POINT PLATEAU AND NETS CAREER-HIGH AT MIDDLE TENNESSEE: In Thursday's loss at Middle Tennessee, senior guard Dennis Mavin eclipsed the 900-point plateau, as he netted a career-high 31 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field to go along with four made from beyond the arc, tying a career-best. Mavin now sits at 930 career points and has scored 624 during his two seasons in an FIU uniform.

SCOUTING UAB: The Blazers come into Saturday's contest with a 6-9 overall record and a 2-0 mark in Conference USA action. UAB opened up C-USA play with a 54-49 victory at Middle Tennessee this past Sunday before knocking off Florida Atlantic by a score of 66-57 on Thursday night in Birmingham. Of UAB's six victories, five of them have come at its home venue, where the Blazers boast a record of 5-4. Entering Saturday, UAB is averaging 65.3 points-per-game while allowing an average of 69.9 points-per-game. The Blazers shoot at .404 clip from the field and .292 from three-point range, while shooting 69.8 percent from the charity stripe.  The Blazers are led by Roberto Brown, who is averaging 13.3 points-per game while averaging 30.3 minutes of action. Brown is shooting 41.4 percent from the field and 30.4 percent from long range. Defensively, UAB has a strong player in the post in Tosin Mehinti. Mehinti is averaging 6.7 points and 3.8 rebounds, but has blocked an incredible 29 shots in just 15 games this season. Nick Norton leads the Blazers in assists (4.1).

NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Blazers, FIU will return home for the first time in 44 days on Jan. 15 for a 7:30 p.m. matchup with the Marshall Thundering Herd. Thursday's game between FIU and Marshall will mark just the third meeting all-time between the two teams as the Panthers trail in the series, 2-0. Last season, Tymell Murphy scored a career-high 29 points as FIU fell to Marshall, 80-68, from the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, W.Va. for the Panthers. Also scoring in double-figures were Dennis Mavin (12 points) and Cody Mann (10 points).

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/.