MIAMI – FIU closes out its first Conference USA homestand of the season on Jan. 12, when it welcomes Old Dominion to the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and can be seen live on ESPN+. The Panthers look to improve to 12-5 on the year.

FIU comes into the game looking for its ninth win in its last 13 games. The Panthers boast an 11-5 record, which equals their best 16-game start in program history.

GAME 17: FIU VS. OLD DOMINION
Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019 | 7 p.m. | Ocean Bank Convocation Center | Miami, Florida | ESPN+

Click here for complete FIU game notes
Click here to watch live on ESPN+
Click here for live stats

FIU PANTHERS | 11-5 (2-1 C-USA)
Last Game: Jan. 10 vs. Charlotte, W, 69-66
Next Game: Jan. 17 at WKU, 8 p.m.
Head Coach: Jeremy Ballard
Alma Mater: Colgate, 2003
Career Record: 11-5 (First season)
at FIU: Same

OLD DOMINION MONARCHS | 11-5 (1-2 C-USA)
Last Game: Jan. 10 at Florida Atlantic, L, 80-73
Next Game: Jan. 17 vs. Louisiana Tech, 7 p.m.
Head Coach: Jeff Jones
Alma Mater: Virginia, 1982
Career Record: 482-350 (27th season)
at Old Dominion: 125-63 (Sixth season)

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: ESPN+
A.J. Ricketts (Play-by-play)
Mike Gillian (Analyst)
Radio: None
Live Stats: FIUSports.com
Series: ODU leads series, 6-0
Twitter Updates: @FIUHoops
Tickets: FIU Athletics Ticket Office 305-FIU-GAME

QUICK HITS
- FIU's 11-5 start is tied for the best 16-game start in program history, joining the 1984-85 squad that also started the season 11-5.

- FIU comes into the ODU game following a hard-fought 69-66 win over Charlotte on Jan. 10 ... Trejon Jacob scored a team-high 19 points while Osasumwen Osaghae and Antonio Daye, Jr. added 13 and 10 points.

- Through Jan 10, Brian Beard, Jr. leads NCAA in steals-per-game (3.4) and total steals (55) ... Osasumwen Osaghae is 21st in the nation in offensive rebounds-per-game (3.4) ... FIU is also fifth in scoring (89.4).

- FIU's 69-66 come-from-behind win over Charlotte on Jan. 10, was its eighth of the season, out of its 11 total wins ... The largest deficit that the Panthers have come back from was 15 points, against Florida Gulf Coast on Nov. 28, en route to an 81-80 win.

LAST TIME OUT
- FIU bent but didn't break on Thursday night as the Panthers hung on for a 69-66 win over Charlotte.

- Trejon Jacob scored a team-high 19 points, with 14 coming in the second half, while Osasumwen Osaghae added 13 points and Antonio Daye, Jr. chipped in the 10 points in the win ... In addition to Osaghae's 13 points, he rejected a career-high seven shots, had seven rebounds and a career-best three steals ... Devon Andrews grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

- With the Panthers leading by as many as 17 points, 51-34, with 15:14 left in the game, Charlotte made its way back into single digits when the 49ers hit the second of two free-throw attempts to make the score 62-53 with 4:44 left in the contest ... Charlotte then cut the lead to one, 67-66, capping off a 13-2 run with 13 seconds remaining ... That was as close at the 49ers got.

- FIU shot 37.3 percent (22-of-59) from the field on the night, including 42.9 percent (12-for-28) in the first half ... The Panthers also forced Charlotte into 23 turnovers on the night, leading to 23 points ... The blue and gold held an 18-2 advantage in fast break points.

SCOUTING OLD DOMINION
- Old Dominion comes into its game with FIU with an 11-5 record and a 1-2 mark in Conference USA, following its 80-73 loss to Florida Atlantic on Thursday ... ODU has won nine of its last 11 after starting the season 2-3.

- Ahmad Carter leads the Monarchs in scoring, netting 17.8 points-per-contest, while B.J. Stith is second in scoring, averaging 17.7 points-per-outing, and is grabbing a team-high 8.4 rebounds-per-contest.

THE SERIES AGAINST THE MONARCHS
- Old Dominion holds a 6-0 series lead in all-time meetings with FIU ... All of the games have come while members of Conference USA ... The Panthers have scored 60-or-more points just once in the series, with that coming during the 2015-16 season (L, 64-60).

BEARD, JR. CLIMBING THE CHARTS; MOVES INTO SECOND ALL-TIME IN CAREER ASSISTS
- In just 47 career games on the floor for FIU, Brian Beard, Jr. has made his mark in the Panthers' record books ... Beard, Jr. is currently second all-time in school history in career assists (280), surpassing Dwight Stewart (264, 1989-93) against Middle Tennessee on Jan. 3 ... He sits second only to Carlos Arroyo (1997-2001) who finished his career with 459 assists, however Arroyo's total came over four years.

- In addition, Beard, Jr. is fifth all-time at FIU in career steals (145) with surpassing Gene Derkack (140, 1995-99) against Charlotte on Jan. 10 ... He currently is two steals shy of tying Patrick McDonald (147, 1982-86) for fourth all-time, and three thefts shy of moving into sole possession of fourth.

DROPPIN' SOME' C-NOTES
- FIU's 117 points against Johnson & Wales marked the second-straight game that the Panthers reached the century mark … The Panthers scored 110 points in the season-opening 110-84 win over Webber International on Nov. 7 … Prior to this season, the last time that an FIU team hit the 100-point mark in regulation was on Feb. 26, 1998, pouring in 101 points against Centenary in a 101-74 win in the TAAC Tournament ... That was the second of two-straight games where the Panthers scored 100-or-more points ... FIU also did it five days before in a 117-79 win over Troy on Feb. 21, 1998.

- FIU logged its third 100-plus-point game when it scored 102 points in a 102-93 win over Youngstown State on Nov. 18, and accomplished the feat in its next outing, against Ave Maria on Nov. 23, in a 104-84 win in the Johnny Bach Classic at Fordham.

- The Panthers hit the 100-point plateau on Dec. 13, with a 102-89 win against North Florida, and most recently poured in 108 points in a 108-67 win over Florida Memorial on Dec. 20.

- The Panthers' six 100-point games are tied for the second most in a season in school history, joining the 1982-83 team ... The most 100-point outings in a season for FIU came during the 1997-98 campaign with seven.

FILLING THE BUCKET AT HOME
- FIU is currently averaging 96.1 points-per-game at home this season ... Prior to their home game against USF on Dec. 18 - an 82-73 loss - the Panthers averaged an impressive 103.6 points-per-game at home ... The Panthers have hit the century mark in five of their eight games at home this season ... On the flip-side, FIU is allowing just 75.2 points-per-game on its home floor.

UP NEXT FOR FIU
Following tonight, the Panthers will embark on a three-game road stretch at WKU (Jan. 17), at Marshall (Jan. 19) and at Florida Atlantic (Jan. 23) ... FIU returns home for a three-game homestand, beginning on Jan. 26, at 7 p.m. against FAU.

#####
Fans are encouraged to follow @FIUHoops on Twitter, and "Like" FIU men's basketball on Facebook (www.Facebook.com/FIUMensBBall) for the latest Panther basketball news.

Follow all of FIU's 18 athletic teams on Google+ (FIU Athletics), Twitter (@FIUAthletics), Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUSports), YouTube (FIUPanthers), and Instagram (FIUathletics).