GAME 21: FIU vs. FLORIDA ATLANTIC
Thursday, January 26, 2017 | 7 p.m.
Lime Court at FIU Arena | Miami, Fla.
 
FIU PANTHERS
Record: 5-15, 1-6 C-USA
Last Game: W, 94-85 vs. UAB, January 21, 2017
Head Coach: Anthony Evans
Alma Mater: St. Thomas Aquinas, 1994 
Career Record: 148-161/10th season
Record at FIU: 49-67/Fourth season
Top Players: Donte McGill (19.2 ppg, 44.9% FG), Michael Kessens (13.8 ppg, 9.4 rpg)
               
FAU OWLS
Record: 5-13, 1-6 C-USA
Last Game: L 86-57 vs. Middle Tennessee, January 21, 2017
Head Coach: Michael Curry
Alma Mater: Georgia Southern, 1990
Career Record: 22-58/Third season
Record at school: Same
Top Players: Adonis Filer (9.9 ppg, 3.2 rpg), Nick Rutherford (9.5 ppg, 4.1 apg)
 
GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: PantherVision (CUSA-TV)
Pete Pelegrin (Play-by-play)
Radio/Audio: None
Live Stats: FIUSports.com
Series: FIU leads, 22-16 (one FIU W vacated)
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 closes out its short three-game homestand on Thursday, Jan. 26, when it welcomes longtime conference rival Florida Atlantic to Lime Court at FIU Arena ... Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. ... Fans can catch the game on PantherVision (CUSA-TV) with Pete Pelegrin calling the action ... Thursday's game is the second meeting between the two schools in the last 20 days, and closes out the home-and-home series for the 2016-17 season.
 
- The Panthers are coming off a stunning 94-85 win over UAB on Saturday night for their first Conference USA victory of the season ... Eric Nottage scored a career-high and FIU Arena-record 37 points in the win ... His 37 points is also the top scoring mark in Conference USA this season ... Donte McGill added 24 points in the win ... Michael Kessens, who fouled out after playing just 28 minutes and scoring six points, still grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.
 
- Donte McGill leads the team in scoring through 20 games, averaging 19.2 points-per-contest ... Michael Kessens is averaging 13.8 points-per-game, good enough for second on the team, and a team-high 9.4 rebounds-per-outing ... His rebounding average is tops in Conference USA and 39th in NCAA Division I (through Jan. 24) ... Eric Nottage  is netting 11.3 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 Thursday's game against FAU, the Panthers head out on the road to face Old Dominion on Feb. 2 in Norfolk, Virginia (7 p.m.) and Charlotte on Feb. 4 (7 p.m.).
 
- FIU will return home on Feb. 9 to take on Rice (7 p.m.)  and North Texas on Feb. 11 (7 p.m.).
 
SCOUTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC
- FAU comes to Miami with a 5-13 overall record and a 1-6 mark in Conference USA this season, following an 86-57 loss to Middle Tennessee on Saturday in Boca Raton ... Frank Booker scored a game-high 22 points and William Pfister added 11 points in the loss, both coming off the bench ... The Owls' starters only scored 14 points on the night ... Pfister and Adonis Filer each grabbed a game-high seven rebounds against the Blue Raiders.
 
- The Owls have dropped their last four games since defeating FIU, 73-64, on Jan. 7, and seven of their last eight.
 
- Adonis Filer leads the Owls in scoring, averaging 9.9 points-per-game on the season, while Nick Rutherford is a close second, netting 9.5 points-per-outing ... Ronald Delph  is the team leader in rebounding, grabbing 7.2 rebounds-per-game to go along with his 8.8 points-per-contest.
 
THE SERIES AGAINST THE OWLS
- FIU comes into its matchup with Florida Atlantic on Jan. 26 leading the all-time series against the Owls, 22-16 ... The actual on-court record is 23-16, however, the Panthers had to vacate one win due to NCAA sanctions.
 
- Thursday's game against the Owls marks the second and final meeting of the season, and the second time in the past 20 days that these two schools have played ... FAU handed the Panthers a 73-64 loss in Boca Raton on Jan. 7.
 
- Prior to its loss to FAU on Jan. 7, FIU had won six-straight games, against the Owls ... The Panthers have currently won six of the last seven games and 8-of-10 against Florida Atlantic dating back to the 2011-12 season.
 
- There have been two overtime games between the two schools, with FAU winning both, 91-88 on Feb. 28, 2007 and 80-78 on Feb. 19, 2011.
 
THE LAST TIME FIU AND FAU MET
- FAU handed the Panthers a 73-64 loss on Jan. 7 in Boca Raton ... The loss snapped a six-game winning streak in the series for FIU against the Owls ... Michael Kessens paced the way with 21 points and 11 rebounds, both game-highs, marking his seventh double-double of the season, and the 20th of his collegiate career ... Eric Nottage scored 11 points.
 
- The Panthers trailed by as many as 15 points with 10:48 on the clock in the second half and cut the Owls' lead to four points, 64-60, when Eric Nottage converted two free throws with 3:54 left in the game ... Mike Kessens scored four of his 21 points and Michael Douglas added three of his six points during the comeback run ... The Panthers were unable to get any closer as FAU scored nine of the final 13 points of the contest.
 
- The Panthers shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) from the field on the afternoon and just 18.2 percent (2-of-11) from behind the three-point arc ... The Owls, however, shot 47.2 percent (25-of-53) from the floor and took advantage of 16 FIU miscues leading to 23 points.
 
LAST TIME OUT FOR THE PANTHERS
- The Panthers are coming off a stunning 94-85 win over UAB on Saturday night for their first Conference USA victory of the season ... Eric Nottage scored a career-high and FIU Arena-record 37 points in the win ... His 37 points is also the top mark in Conference USA this season ... Donte McGill added 24 points in the win ... Michael Kessens, who fouled out after playing just 28 minutes and scoring six points, still grabbed a game-high seven rebounds.