THE GAME: FIU returns to action on Feb. 7 for a 5:30 p.m. matchup at home versus UTEP. The game will be broadcasted live on ASN. The matchup between FIU and UTEP will mark the fourth meeting all-time between the two teams as the Miners lead the series, 3-0. The last time these two teams met was Feb. 15, 2014, as FIU fell to UTEP, 84-71 in El Paso. Despite trailing by 18 points at halftime, the Panthers would manage to cut the Miner lead to seven in the second half.

LAST TIME OUT: UTSA's Keon Lewis scored 19 of his 23 points in the second half to erase an FIU halftime lead as the Panthers suffered a 74-63 loss to the Roadrunners. Redshirt junior Adrian Diaz led all Panthers with 22 points on 11-of-17 shooting. The 6-foot-11 center also record 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season. Diaz also registered a career-high eight blocks, tying the FIU school record for blocked shots in a game (Rakeem Buckles vs. Stetson – Nov. 18, 2013; David Gregg vs. UMES – Jan. 3, 1989). Senior Dennis Mavin also reached double-figures in scoring 15 points on 5-of-12 shooting from the floor. Junior Daviyon Draper and senior Kris Gulley had nine rebounds each, as the FIU forwards scored eight and nine points, respectively.

DIAZ "THE HIALEAH HAMMER" LEADING THE SWAT TEAM: In Thursday's contest against UTSA, in addition to his fourth career double-double, junior Adrian Diaz played a big part in helping the Panthers block a season-high 10 blocks. 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 30 blocks over the last seven games, an average of 4.2-blocks per contest. With his eight blocks against UTSA, Diaz now ranks tied for second all-time for blocked shots in a season at FIU with 58 (Jabahri Brown – 1999-00). He is just two shy of tying the school record for a single season and has alreday cracked the top 10 for career blocks at FIU.

SCOUTING UTEP: UTEP enters Saturday's contest with a 15-7 overall record and a 7-3 mark in Conference USA action, sitting alone in fourth place in the league standings and winners of the last three games. The Miners are coming off a 63-56 victory at Florida Atlantic on Thursday. Vince Hunter scored 17 of his 22 points in the second half in that game while Cedrick Lang added a season-high 16. Hunter is UTEP's leading scorer this season, averaging 16.2 points-per-game while also averaging 9.8 rebounds, close to a double-double. Lang is second on the team in scoring, averaging 10.4 games while also being a strong presence on the boards, bringing in an average of 6.4 rebounds. C.J. Cooper is the Miners' assists leader, as he averages nearly 3.4 helpers-per-game. As a team, UTEP is averaging 70.0 points and have a scoring margin of +6.7. The Miners had won 12 of their previous 13 Conference USA road games before dropping two-straight at WKU (1/22) and at Marshall (1/24). UTEP ended that two-game skid at Florida Atlantic, bring that mark to now 13 of 16 C-USA road games. 

NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Miners, FIU will return to action on Feb. 12 for a 9:00 p.m. ET matchup at Southern Miss. The game will be broadcasted live on FSN. The matchup between FIU and Southern Miss will mark just the second all-time meeting between the two teams as the Golden Eagles lead the all-time series, 1-0. The last time these two teams met was Feb. 27, 2014, as  FIU fell to Southern Miss, 78-66. Marco Porcher Jimenez, posted a career-high 17 points in that contest.

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/.