FIU MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
vs. Old Dominion (5-8, 0-0 C-USA) - C-USA TV
Thursday, Dec. 30 – 7 p.m. ET – Ocean Bank Convocation Center
 
SETTING THE STAGE:  The Panthers (8-3, 0-0 C-USA) opens conference play at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center on Thursday night (Dec. 30) vs. Old Dominion in a 7 p.m. ET tip.  The contest will mark FIU's first since Dec. 15 when it played at Jacksonville State.
 
LOOKING TO STAY PERFECT AT THE BANK:  FIU enters Thursday's clash with the Monarchs boasting a perfect 5-0 mark at home – and have won those games by an average of 22.0 points.  All but one of the Panthers home wins this season have been by a double-digit margin.  FIU is also shooting a solid .511 (141-of-276) on its home floor.
 
BROADCAST INFO:  The FIU-Old Dominion contest will air live on C-USA TV with AJ Ricketts and Patrick Murray on the call.
 
SERIES HISTORY:  The Panthers will be facing Old Dominion for the 11th time in program history when they square off on Thursday night at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
The two teams split a pair of games in Miami last season on the first two days of 2021.
 
OLD DOMINION (2-8, 2-8 C-USA)
1/16/14      L       36-52          H
1/29/15      L       56-71          A
1/30/16      L       60-64          H
2/2/17        L       57-64          A
1/18/18      L       54-64          H
3/13/18      L       53-79          A
1/12/19      L       74-75          H
1/23/20      W     83-80          A
1/1/21        L       67-82          H
1/2/21        W     68-55          H
 
PANTHERS POST BEST START:  FIU's 8-1 start to the 2021-22 campaign marked the best in program history – eclipsing the start of 2018-19 squad, which opened the season with wins in seven of their first eight games overall.
 
The eight straight victories also equaled the longest in-season winning streak in program annals – which was set in 1985-86 with wins over the final eight contests.
 
The Panthers also won the opening two games of 1986-87 – with that 10-game stretch of wins ranking as the longest in the FIU record book.

SHARING THE BALL:  Over the first 11 games of 2021-22, more than half of the Panthers' field goals have come with an assist this season – entering Thursday's clash with Old Dominion.

Of FIU's 284 field goals this season, 168 have some with a helper – a rate of 59.1percent.

The Panthers have posted assists on more than 50 percent of their field goals in nine of their initial 11 games.