THE GAME: FIU returns to action on March 5 for a 7:30 p.m. ET matchup with the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders on Lime Court at FIU Arena. Thursday's game between FIU and Middle Tennessee will mark the 33rd meeting all-time between the two teams as the Blue Raiders hold a 25-7 edge in the series history. The last time these two teams met was on Jan. 8, as FIU fell, 65-52. Dennis Mavin 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.
 

• Dennis Mavin became the 14th player in program history to have scored at least 800 career points during their time at FIU vs. Louisiana Tech on Feb. 14. He now ranks 13th at FIU on the career scoring list with 867 points and trails James Mazyck (1993-95) by just four points for the No. 12 spot and Karel Rosario (1997-01) by seven points for the No. 11 spot in FIU's record book. Mavin is also just 16 points shy of the No. 10 spot held by Ivan Almonte (2004-06).

• Mavin became the seventh player in program history to eclipse the 500-point plateau in a single season in Satruday's loss at WKU. With his 500 points this season, Mavin is creeping up the single season record book as he trails Dedric Taylor (1996-97) by 11 points for sixth, Dwight Stewart (1991-92) by 13 for fifth, Ivan Almonte (2004-05) by 15 for fourth, and Tymell Murphy (2013-14) by 16 for third.

• Mavin has posted 62 double-digit scoring games and has 10, 20-plus point games for his career, including eigth this season. Mavin has led the Panthers in scoring in 22 of 29 games this season.

• Entering Saturday's game, Mavin currently ranks second in Conference USA in scoring (17.3), 10th in defensive rebounds (4.4), 13th in assists (2.9), 11th in steals (1.3) and first in minutes played (35.6). 

• With his school record 78 blocks this season, redshirt junior Adrian Diaz needs just seven more blocks to reach 100 for his career. Diaz recorded 15 blocks in his first two seasons at Kansas State.

• Diaz now ranks first in Conference USA in field goal percentage and eighth in the nation, as he is shooting at a 60.5 percent clip.

• Diaz also currently ranks 18th in Conference USA in scoring (13.0), while also ranking seventh in rebounding (6.8) and second in blocked shots (2.7). Diaz has posted five or more blocks in seven different games this season and put up a career-high and school record-tying eight-block performance vs. UTSA on Feb. 5.

• Diaz has been strong on the offensive glass for the Panthers, averaging 3.2 offensive rebounds-per-game this season. The 3.2 clip for Diaz ranks third in C-USA and 41st nationally. 

• Dominique Williams' 117 rebounds this season ranks as the ninth most in school history for a sophomore. Williams is just two rebounds shy of passing Cesar Bochachia (1989-90) on that list.

• Senior MARCO PORCHER JIMENEZ is just six three-pointers away from 100 career field goals from long distance. 

• FIU is 8-7 when coming off a loss. In his two seasons at FIU, head coach ANTHONY EVANS' teams are 16-15 when coming off a loss. 

• Entering Thursday, FIU is amonst C-USA leaders in team defense, ranking fourth in FG percentage defense (.442) and fifth in scoring defense (65.4). 

LAST TIME OUT: FIU closed out a two-game road trip with a 77-61 loss to the WKU Hilltoppers on Saturday night at E.A. Diddle Arena. With the loss, the Panthers have dropped four of their last five games. Senior guard Dennis Mavin led the way for FIU, scoring 16 points in the loss. With his 16-point effort, Mavin passed Darius Cook (1997-00) for the No. 13 spot in FIU's career scoring record book, as the Gainesville native now has 867 career points in an FIU uniform. Senior Kris Gulley put together a strong effort, scoring a career-high 15 points while grabbing six rebounds on the night. Junior Daviyon Draper rounded out FIU's double-digit scorers, as he tallied 10 points on the evening. The double-figure scoring effort was the second-straight for Draper and the eighth of his FIU career. 

SCOUTING MIDDLE TENNESSEE: Middle Tennessee enters Thursday's contest with a 15-14 overall record and an 8-8 mark in Conference USA action, having won two of its last three games. The Blue Raiders, who defeated Marshall and WKU in back-to-back games, followed that up with a triple-overtime loss at UAB this past Saturday, losing by a count of 100-95 in Birmingham. As a team, the Blue Raiders are averaging 64.2 points-per-game  and are out-rebounding their opponents by a margin of +3.6 while having a turnover margin of -0.4. Leading the way for Middle Tennessee is Reggie Upshaw, who is averaging 10.4 points-per-game and 6.7 rebounds-per-contest. Jacquez Rozier has been solid for the Blue Raider this year as well, averaging 7.4 points while grabbing an average of 5.2 rebounds. Middle Tennessee is good at spreading the ball around, as the Blue Raiders have eight players that are averaging at least 8.0 points-per-game.  

NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Blue Raiders, FIU will return to action on March 7 for an 8:00 p.m. ET matchup with the UAB Blazers on Lime Court at FIU Arena. Saturday's game between FIU and UAB will mark just the third meeting all-time between the two teams as the series is knotted up at one. The last time these two teams met was on Jan. 10, as FIU fell, 70-53. FIU was led by senior guard Dennis Mavin, who poured in 12 points to go along with six rebounds and four assists in 36 minutes of action.