GAME 20: FIU vs. UAB
Saturday, January 21, 2017 | 7 p.m.
Lime Court at FIU Arena | Miami, Fla.
 
FIU PANTHERS
Record: 4-15, 0-6 C-USA
Last Game: L, 65-52 vs. Middle Tennessee, January 19, 2017
Head Coach: Anthony Evans
Alma Mater: St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994 
Career Record: 147-161/10th season
Record at FIU: 48-67/Fourth season
Top Players: Donte McGill (18.9 ppg, 44.0% FG), Michael Kessens (14.2 ppg, 9.5 rpg)       
 
UAB BLAZERS
Record: 12-7, 5-1 C-USA
Last Game: W, 80-78 at Florida Atlantic, January 19, 2017
Head Coach: Robert Ehsan
Alma Mater: UC Davis, 2005
Career Record: 12-7/First season
Record at school: Same
Top Players: William Lee (13.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg), Chris Cokley (12.1 ppg, 5.8 rpg)
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: PantherVision (CUSA-TV)
Josh Appel (Play-by-play)
Pete Pelegrin (Color analyst)
Radio/Audio: None
Live Stats: FIUSports.com
Series: UAB leads series, 3-2
Twitter: @FIUHoops
Tickets: For ticket information, contact the FIU athletic ticket office at 305-FIU-GAME (348-4263). Single game tickets start at just $10.
 
QUICK HITS
- The FIU men's basketball team gets back to work on Saturday, Jan. 21, when it faces UAB on Lime Court at FIU Arena ... Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ... Fans can catch the game on PantherVision (CUSA-TV) with Josh Appel calling the action along with Pete Pelegrin adding color commentary ... The game with the Blazers is the second game of a three-game homestand over seven days ... The Panthers will close out the stretch on Thursday, Jan. 26, against longtime conference rival Florida Atlantic at 7 p.m. finishing their home-and-home series for this season.
 
- The Panthers are coming off a 65-52 loss to Middle Tennessee on Thursday night ... Donte McGill scored a team-high 21 points and Michael Kessens added 12 points in the loss ... Eric Nottage grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.
 
- Donte McGill leads the team in scoring through 19 games, averaging 18.9 points-per-contest ... Michael Kessens is averaging 14.2 points-per-game, good enough for second on the team, and a team-high 9.5 rebounds-per-outing ... His rebounding average is tops in Conference USA and 39th in NCAA Division I (through Jan. 19) ... Eric Nottage  is netting 9.9 points-per-game.
 
- Anthony Evans is in his fourth season as head coach of the Panthers, and his 10th season overall ... FIU's game against Georgia Southern on Dec. 15 was Evans' 300th of his head coaching career.
 
UP NEXT FOR FIU
- Following their meeting with UAB on Saturday, the Panthers will close out their short three-game homestand on Jan. 26 when Florida Atlantic comes to Miami for its second meeting with FIU in the past 19 days.
 
SCOUTING UAB
- UAB comes into its Saturday's game with FIU with a 12-7  record, and a 5-1 mark in Conference USA, following an 80-78 win at Florida Atlantic on Thursday night in Boca Raton ... The Blazers' conference record puts them in a two-way tie with Louisiana Tech ... UAB has won five-straight games, six of their last seven and seven-of-nine.
 
- William Lee is one of three players averaging double figures in the scoring column for the Blazers, netting 13.1 points-per-game ... Chris Cokley and Dirk Williams fall right behind Lee, averaging 12.1 and 10.1 points-per-game, respectively ... Lee (6.7 rpg) and Cokley (5.8 rpg) are also UAB's top two rebounders.
 
THE SERIES AGAINST THE BLAZERS
- UAB comes into its game with FIU holding a slight 3-2 advantage in the all-time series, dating back to the 2013-14 season ... The Blazers have won two-straight after the Panthers won two of the first three meetings.
 
LAST YEAR VS. UAB
- UAB swept both games in the home-and-home series against FIU ... The Panthers dropped a 74-69 decision to the Blazers on Feb. 14 in Birmingham, Alabama, before UAB handed FIU a 61-58 loss on March 3 in Miami during the final weekend of the regular season.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE PANTHERS
- The Panthers are coming off a 65-52 loss to Middle Tennessee on Thursday night ... Donte McGill scored a team-high 21 points and Michael Kessens added 12 points in the loss ... Eric Nottage grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in the loss.
 
- FIU, who shot just 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field, including 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from three-point range, could not overcome Middle Tennessee's 51.1 percent (24-of-47) shooting from the floor on the night ... The Blue Raiders also outrebounded the Panthers, 32-24 ... It was the third-straight game that FIU was outrebounded after holding the advantage on the glass in 13 of the first 16 games of the year.