MIAMI – FIU closes out its regular season slate on March 9 when it welcomes North Texas to the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen live on CUSA TV.

The Panthers, who have won four of their last five games, look to improve to 19-12 overall and 10-8 in C-USA play. An FIU win would be the third most wins in program history since moving to Division I for the 1986-87 season.

GAME 31: FIU vs. NORTH TEXAS
Saturday, March 9, 2019 | 7 p.m. | Ocean Bank Convocation Center | Miami, Florida | CUSA TV

Click here for complete FIU game notes
Click here to watch live on CUSA TV
Click here for live stats

FIU PANTHERS | 18-12 (9-8 C-USA)
Last Game: March 6 at Marshall, L, 94-78
Next Game: March 13 at C-USA Tournament, TBA
Head Coach: Jeremy Ballard
Alma Mater: Colgate, 2003
Career Record: 18-12 (First season)
at FIU: Same

NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN | 20-10 (8-9 C-USA)
Last Game: March 3 vs. Marshall, L, 85-82
Next Game: March 13 at C-USA Tournament, TBA
Head Coach: Grant McCasland
Alma Mater: Baylor, 1999
Career Record: 60-40 (Third season)
at North Texas: 40-28 (Second season)

GAMEDAY INFORMATION
TV/Video: CUSA TV
A.J. Ricketts (Play-by-play)
Radio/Audio: None
Live Stats: FIUSports.com
Series: North Texas leads series, 16-7
Twitter Updates: @FIUHoops
Tickets: FIU Athletics Ticket Office 305-FIU-GAME

QUICK HITS
- The Panthers come into their game with the Mean Green looking for their second win against North Texas in less than a month ... FIU is also looking for its fifth win in the last six games and its sixth win in its last nine.

- FIU is coming off a 94-78 loss at Marshall on March 6, snapping its four-game winning streak ... Osasumwen Osaghae led the way with a career-high 19 points and 11 rebounds for his sixth career double-double.   

- Through March 7, Brian Beard, Jr. is fourth in the NCAA in steals-per-game (3.1) and total steals (91) ... Osasumwen Osaghae is fifth in blocked shots-per-game (3.0) ... FIU is also is first nationally in steals (10.6).

LAST TIME OUT
- Marshall used a big second half, outscoring FIU 47-32 in the final 20 minutes of play, to snap the Panthers' four-game winning streak with a 94-78 victory over FIU on March 6 at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia.

- Osasumwen Osaghae scored a career and team-high 19 points and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds for his sixth career double-double ... Osaghae was one of five FIU players to score double-digits along with Brian Beard, Jr. who had 12 points and Devon Andrews, Antonio Daye, Jr. and Trejon Jacob who all added 10 points in the loss ... Beard, Jr. also handed out six assists.

- FIU led by as many as 12 points, three times, the latter being with just over four minutes remaining in the half, 42-30 ... Marshall, however, closed the half on a 17-4 run to take a 47-46 lead at the break.

- After the Panthers held a slight advantage for the first few minutes of the second half, the Thundering Herd regained the momentum and tied the game at 56-all, just over three minutes in, and took the lead for good on three-point play ... Marshall never relinquished the lead the rest of the night pushing the lead to double-figures with just under 12 minutes left.

- Despite FIU shooting 43 percent (34-for-79) from the field, and outscoring the Thundering Herd, 60-44, in the paint, Marshall won the battle from behind the three-point arc, hitting 10 treys as opposed to the Panthers' two.

SCOUTING NORTH TEXAS
- Umogia Gibson leads six players in double figures, averaging 12.6 points-per-game, while Ryan Woolridge and Roosevelt Smart are netting 12.1 and 11.2 points-per-outing, respectively ... Zachary Simmons leads North Texas on the glass, grabbing 6.5 boards-per-game.

- North Texas boasts a 20-10 record and an 8-9 mark in Conference USA, following its 85-82 loss to Marshall at home on March 3 ... The Mean Green have lost six-straight after starting the season 20-4.

THE SERIES AGAINST THE MEAN GREEN
- FIU and North Texas have met 23 times, prior to this Saturday's game, with the Mean Green holding a 16-7 lead in the series, and a 4-3 mark as members of Conference USA ... North Texas holds a 12-4 record on FIU as Sun Belt members ... The Panthers and Mean Green met on Feb. 16 with FIU coming out on top, 69-59.

- The Panthers and Mean Green have played five overtime games in the series, with three of the five coming in the first four regular season meetings ... North Texas is 3-2 in overtime games against FIU.

BRIAN BEARD, JR. JOINS 1,000-POINT CLUB
- With his 13 points against Louisiana Tech on March 3, Brian Beard, Jr. became just the seventh player in program history to reach the 1,000-point plateau, and the first since Alex Galindo (2008-09).

BEARD, JR. CLIMBING THE CHARTS
- In just 61 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 (365), 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 ... Arroyo's total came over four years (100 games).

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.

UP NEXT FOR FIU
Up next for FIU, the Panthers will travel to the Conference USA Tournament in Frisco, Texas, which begins with the first round on March 13, followed by the quarterfinals on March 14, the semifinals on March 15, and the championship game on March 16.

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