THE GAME: FIU returns 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.
 

NOTES TO KNOW: 

• 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 11th at FIU on the career scoring list with 879 points and passed James Mazyck (1993-95) by just four points for the No. 12 spot and Karel Rosario (1997-01) for the No. 11 spot in FIU's win over Middle Tennessee on Thursday night. Mavin is just four points shy of the No. 10 spot held by Ivan Almonte (2004-06) and 33 points from Dedric Taylor (1995-97) for the No. 9 mark.

• Mavin became the seventh player in program history to eclipse the 500-point plateau in a single season in last Saturday's loss at WKU. With his 512 points this season, Mavin is creeping up the single season record book as he passed Dedric Taylor (1996-97) on Thursday night for the sixth spot. Mavin now trails Dwight Stewart (1991-92) by one for fifth, Ivan Almonte (2004-05) by three for fourth, and Tymell Murphy (2013-14) by four for third. He is just 29 points shy of Dwight Stewart's No. 2 mark of 541 points during the 1990-91 season.

• Mavin has posted 63 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 30 games this season.

• Entering Saturday's game, Mavin currently ranks second in Conference USA in scoring (17.1), 10th in defensive rebounds (4.3), 12th in assists (2.9), 10th in steals (1.3) and first in minutes played (35.7). 

• With his school record 82 blocks this season, redshirt junior Adrian Diaz needs just three more blocks to reach 100 for his career. Diaz recorded 15 blocks in his first two seasons at Kansas State.

• Diaz now ranks second in Conference USA in field goal percentage and eighth in the nation, as he is shooting at a 60.2 percent clip.

• Diaz also currently ranks 17th in Conference USA in scoring (13.1), 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  tied for third in C-USA and 41st nationally. 

• Dominique Williams' 122 rebounds this season ranks as the eighth most in school history for a sophomore. Williams is just 13 rebounds shy of passing Jerome Frink (2013-14) on that list.

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

• FIU is 9-7 when coming off a loss. In his two seasons at FIU, head coach ANTHONY EVANS' teams are 17-15 when coming off a loss. 

• Entering Saturday, FIU is amongst C-USA leaders in team defense, ranking second in FG percentage defense (.408) and fifth in scoring defense (65.0). 

LAST TIME OUT: FIU outscored Middle Tennessee 35-24 in the second half to earn a hard-fought 59-54 victory on Thursday night on Lime Court at FIU Arena. With the victory, the Panthers earn their eighth win all-time against the Blue Raiders. FIU had three players score in double-figures, led by a 17-point and eight-rebound effort from redshirt junior Adrian Diaz, while swatting four shots to improve his program-record block total to 82 this season. Junior Daviyon Draper scored 14 points to mark his third-straight double-digit scoring effort while senior Dennis Mavin chipped in 12 points, five assists and two steals in 39 minutes of action. Sophomore Dominique Williams scored nine points and grabbed five boards off the bench. Middle Tennessee led at halftime before FIU used a strong second half to rally for the win. 

SCOUTING UAB: The Blazers come into Saturday's contest with a 16-14 overall record and a 12-5 mark in Conference USA action. UAB had won its previous three games over WKU, Marshall and Middle Tennessee before dropping a 62-59 decision to FAU in Boca Raton on Thursday night. UAB is 3-7 in road games and have boasted a mark of 3-5 in C-USA road contests. Entering Saturday, UAB is averaging 69.2 points-per-game while allowing an average of 68.6 points-per-game. The Blazers shoot at .429 clip from the field and .324 from three-point range, while shooting 75 percent from the charity stripe. The Blazers are led by Robert Brown, who is averaging 13.0 points-per game while averaging 31.9 minutes of action. Brown is shooting 39.8 percent from the field and 31.1 percent from long range. Defensively, UAB has a strong player in the post in Tosin Mehinti. Mehinti is averaging 7.0 points and 4.6 rebounds, but has blocked 60 shots in 29 games this season. Nick Norton leads the Blazers in assists (3.9).

NEXT UP: Following its matchup with the Blazers, FIU will return to action on March 11 when in opens up action in the Conference USA Tournament, this year hosted by the city of Birmingham, Ala. This will be FIU's first ever appearance in the C-USA Tournament after being left out last year due to NCAA sanctions. FIU's last appearance in a conference tournament was during the 2013 season, when the Panthers made a strong run to the Sun Belt title game, eventually dropping the championship contest to WKU.