DIAZ "THE HIALEAH HAMMER" LEADING THE SWAT TEAM: In Saturday's loss to UTEP, redshirt junior Adrian Diaz blocked four shots, passing Jabahri Brown (1999-00 season) to break FIU's single-season blocks record, as he now has 62 blocks on the season. This came after last Thursday's contest against UTSA, where in addition to his fourth career double-double, Diaz played a big part in helping the Panthers block a season-high 10 shots. In addition to registering a career-high eight blocks, Diaz tied the FIU school record for blocked shots with Rakeem Buckles, who had eight swats vs. Stetson (11/18/13) and David Gregg who did the same vs. UMES (1/3/89). Diaz has 34 blocks over the last eight games, an average of 4.3 blocks-per-contest. With his four blocks against UTEP, Diaz not only holds the school's single season record, but he also ranks ninth all-time in blocks at FIU and is just 11 away from cracking the top five. 

MAVIN NEAR THE CONFERENCE USA LEAD IN SCORING: Entering Thursday's contest with Southern Miss, senior guard Dennis Mavin is tied for first in Conference USA in scoring. Mavin is averaging 17.7 points-per-game, and is tied with WKU's T.J. Price for the league lead. 

LAST TIME OUT: Despite leading by one point with 1:23 remaining, FIU fell to the UTEP Miners, 67-64, on Lime Court at FIU Arena on Saturday evening. With the loss, FIU drops to 0-4 all-time against UTEP. Senior guard Dennis Mavin posted his eighth 20-point game this season, leading the Panthers with 23 points on the evening. Junior Daviyon Draper had one of his best games in an FIU uniform, scoring a career-high 21 points on a personal-best nine made field goals. Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz posted his second-straight double-double in the loss, scoring 12 points while recording 11 rebounds. Diaz also had four blocks in the game, which gives him 62 on the season as he broke FIU's single season blocks record. Diaz passed Russell Hicks, who had 60 blocks during the 2007-08 campaign. Mavin's three-point tie attempt at the end fell short.

SCOUTING SOUTHERN MISS: Southern Miss enters Thursday's contest with a 6-16 overall record and a 1-10 mark in Conference USA action. The Golden Eagles have lost their last four games and 13 of their last 14 games as the one victory came at North Texas on Jan. 24 in overtime. Southern Miss is most recently coming off 10-point losses at UAB on Feb. 7 and at Middle Tennessee on Feb. 5. As a team, Southern Miss is averaging 60.6 points-per-game while allowing an average of 69 points. The Golden Eagles are shooting at a 44 percent clip from the field while making 34.6 percent of their shots from beyond the three-point arc. Of the six Golden Eagle wins this season, five of them have come at home, where they hoist a 5-6 record in those games. Leading the way for Southern Miss is Chip Armelin, who is averaging 15.3 points-per-game to go along with 4.0 rebounds. Matt Bingaya is right behind Armelin, as he is averaging 14.1 points and leads the team in boards, rebounding at an average clip of 5.8. 

NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Golden Eagles, FIU will return to action on Feb. 14 for a 7:00 p.m. ET matchup at Louisiana Tech. The matchup between FIU and the LA Tech will mark the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams as the Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 4-3. The last time these two teams met was Jan. 11, 2014, as  FIU fell to the Bulldogs, 85-51. Tymell Murphy led all Panthers with 13 points and nine rebounds. Dennis Mavin added 12 points and grabbed three rebounds in the loss.