THE GAME: FIU returns to action on March 11 when it opens up action in the Conference USA Tournament, this year hosted by the city of Birmingham, Ala. This will be FIU's inaugural  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. The No. 10-seeded Panthers will square off with the seventh-seeded UTSA Roadrunners in the first round matchup. This will mark the fourth all-time matchup between UTSA and FIU, as the Roadrunners lead the series, 2-1. UTSA earned a 74-63 win over FIU back on Feb. 5. Adrian Diaz led all Panthers in that game with 22 points on 11-of-17 shooting. The 6-foot-11 center also record 10 rebounds while registering a then-career-high eight blocks
 

NOTES TO KNOW: 

• Dennis Mavin has been named a Second-Team All-Conference USA selction, announced by the league on Monday. He becomes the second player in program history to earn All-C-USA honors. 

• 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, now ranking him 10th at FIU on the career scoring list with 898 points. He passed Ivan Almonte (2004-06) for that No. 10 spot in Saturday's win over UTSA, and is 31 points shy from Dedric Taylor (1995-97) for the No. 9 mark. With two points against UTSA, Mavin will become the program's 10th player to score at least 900 career points. 

• Mavin became the seventh player in program history to eclipse the 500-point plateau in a single season at WKU on Feb. 28. With his 531 points this season, Mavin is creeping up the single season record book as he passed Almonte (2004-05) and Murphy (2013-14) on Saturday night for the fourth and third spots. He is just 10 points shy of Dwight Stewart's No. 2 mark of 541 points during the 1990-91 season.

• Mavin has posted 64 double-digit scoring games and has 10, 20-plus point games for his career, including eight this season. He has led the Panthers in scoring in 22 of 31 games this season.

• Entering Wednesday's game with UTSA, Mavin currently ranks third in Conference USA in scoring (17.1), ninth in defensive rebounds (4.4), 11th in assists (3.1), 12th in steals (1.3) and first in minutes played (35.6).

• Redshirt junior ADRIAN DIAZ has been named the reigning Conference USA Player of the Week for his performance versus UAB. Diaz posted what is believed to be the program's first ever triple-double, scoring 14 points, grabbing 12 rebounds while blocking an FIU record 13 shots in Saturday's regular season finale win over the Blazers. The 13-block performance by Diaz matches a Conference USA single game record, which was initially set by Marshall's Hassan Whiteside back in 2010. Additionally, the 13 swats for the Miami native are an NCAA season-high for a single game this season, besting the previous mark of 11. In fact, the last time any player in the NCAA had at least 13 blocks in a game was Darrius Garrett of Richmond, who had 14 vs. UMass in 2010.

• With his school record 95 blocks this season, Diaz reached 100 for his career against UAB, as he now has 110. Diaz recorded 15 blocks in his first two seasons at Kansas State.

• The 95 total blocks for Diaz currently ranks fourth in the country, while his 3.1 blocks-per-game average now ranks sixth nationally. 

• Diaz now ranks second in Conference USA in field goal percentage and eighth in the nation, as he is shooting at a 60.9 percent clip.

• Diaz also currently ranks 17th in Conference USA in scoring (13.1), while also ranking sixth in rebounding (7.0) and first in blocked shots (3.1). Diaz has posted five or more blocks in eight different games this season and put up a career-high, school record and Conference USA record-tying 13-block performance vs. UAB on March 7. 

• 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 38th nationally. 

LAST TIME OUT: Behind a record performance by Adrian Diaz, the FIU men's basketball team knocked off the UAB Blazers on Saturday night by a score of 70-66 to close out the 2014-15 regular season. Diaz posted what is believed to be the program's first ever triple-double, scoring 14 points, grabbing 12 rebounds while blocking an FIU record 13 shots. In addition to the performance by Diaz, three more Panthers scored in double-figures.Redshirt junior Daviyon Draper led FIU in scoring, netting 20 points while grabbing five rebounds, dishing out three assists and recording two steals. Senior Dennis Mavin closed out his final home game with a strong 32 minutes, tallying 19 points, grabbing six rebounds and matching his career-high in assists with six. Also scoring in double figures was senior Kris Gulley, who had 14 points and three from long distance.

NEXT UP: With a victory over the Roadrunners, FIU will return to action on March 12 to face the UTEP Miners in the second round of the Conference USA Tournament. The Panthers and Miners have met four times in the series history, as FIU trails, 4-0, in the four matchups. These two squads last met on February 7, as UTEP snuck out a 67-64 victory. Dennis Mavin posted led the Panthers with 23 points on the evening. Daviyon Draper scored a career-high 21 points on a personal-best nine made field goals.