FIU MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
vs. Stetson
Saturday, Dec. 4 – 7 p.m. ET – Ocean Bank Convocation Center
 
SETTING THE STAGE:  The Panthers (7-1) will conclude their current homestand with a 7 p.m. ET tip on Saturday, Dec. 4 against Stetson (2-4) at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
LOOKING FOR HISTORY: FIU will be looking for its eighth consecutive win when it faces the Hatters on Saturday night as well as the best start in program history.  The Panthers previous best start to a season was also a 7-1 mark in 2018-19.
 
The eight straight wins would also match the longest in-season winning streak since FIU won each of the final eight games of the 1985-86 campaign. 
 
The Panthers would go on to post wins in the opening two games in 1986-87 – that 10 game stretch marks the longest winning streak in program annals.
 
TV TALENT:  The FIU-Stetson contest will air live on Conference USA TV.  The game will be called by the play-by-play voice of the Panthers AJ Ricketts.
 
SERIES HISTORY:  The Panthers have faced Stetson 24 times previously and own a 15-9 overall mark in those previous meetings.  The programs last met during the 2019 season with FIU claiming an 83-67 victory in Deland.
 
The Panthers own a 6-5 mark on their home floor against the Hatters  - but have dropped the last two meetings in Miami entering Saturday's clash.
 
STETSON (15-9)

11/26/90	W	88-84	H
2/18/91	L	67-89	A
1/11/92	W	78-62*	H
2/8/92	W	68-65 (OT)*	A
1/9/93	W	66-63*	A
2/6/93	W	82-75*	H
1/17/94	L	67-85*	H
2/10/94	L	58-61*	A
1/19/95	L	69-76*	H
2/25/95	W	62-61*	A
3/2/95	W	63-56	1
1/25/96	L	68-87*	A
2/24/96	L	73-82*	H
1/23/97	W	78-72*	H
2/22/97	W	85-77*	A
1/31/98	W	101-80*	H
2/5/98	W	73-60*	A
12/9/12	W	82-79	A
11/18/13	W	75-66	H
11/18/14	W	53-52	A
11/30/15	L	75-81	H
11/14/16	L	67-82	A
11/12/17	L	64-70	H
12/22/19	W	83-67	A

 

1. – at Orlando, Fla.

 
CLOSING IT OUT:  FIU put together back-to-back solid second half performances to post wins in each of its last two games against North Florida (Nov. 28) and Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 1).
 
The Panthers outscored North Florida by 17 in the second half in extending its current winning streak to six consecutive games with an 84-69 victory on Nov. 28.
 
FIU shot an eye-popping 66.7 percent (18-of-27) from the field in the second half, including hitting on 7-of-11 attempts from three-point range (63.6%) in the final 20 minutes.

The Panthers outscored the Ospreys 48-31 in the second half, with the key run coming during an 18-5 burst that saw the Blue and Gold run out to a 65-52 lead after being deadlocked at 47-47 with 16 minutes remaining in regulation.

In the win over Florida Gulf Coast, FIU used an extended and decisive 22-7 run over the final 9:27 to turn what had been a tightly played contest into a convincing 16-point victory. 

 FIU held a one-point advantage at 55-54 when a three pointer by senior Isaiah Banks started the surge, which also saw the Panther defense limit Florida Gulf Coast to just three field goals during the game-clinching stretch.

FRESHMAN DUO SPARK WIN OVER NORTH FLORIDA:  The Panthers' win over North Florida was sparked by a pair of freshmen as both Petar Krivokapic and Denver Jones both posting season-high scoring efforts.

Krivokapic paced FIU with a team-best 18 points, while connecting on 6-of-8 attempts from beyond the arc. 

Jones added 17 while making 5-of-7 attempts from the field and hitting a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line and 3-of-3 from deep.

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

Of FIU's 206 field goals this season, 129 have some with a helper – a rate of 62.6 percent.

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

ANOTHER HOT SECOND HALF VS. NORTH DAKOTA:  The FIU men's basketball team used an explosive second half that saw it outscore North Dakota by 15 en route to its fifth straight victory by a 65-56 margin on Nov. 24 at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.

FIU started its second-half push with a 12-0 run that flipped a deficit of 51-45 to a 57-51 FIU lead, that the Panthers would not relinquish.

The run was sparked by Tevin Brewer, who scored nine of his 12 points in the spurt and 10 in the second half.

Defensively, the Panthers were stout down the stretch – holding North Dakota scoreless for the final 3:16 of regulation.

TEVIN BREWER HONORED AS CONFERENCE USA POW:  FIU junior Tevin Brewer has been selected as the Conference USA Men's Basketball Player of the Week, for the period ending Nov. 21.
Brewer averaged 18.3 points over three games while leading the Panthers to a perfect 3-0 record at the Jersey Mike's Classic.  FIU posted three victories over a four-day span against Ball State, Green Bay and UNC Greensboro.

In the win over UNC Greensboro, Brewer scored five of the Panthers' nine points in the overtime period, including a clutch three-pointer that snapped a 70-70 tie and put FIU up for good with 3:28 left.

For the three games, Brewer also registered an average of 4.7 assists and shot a solid .563 (18-of-32) from the field and was a perfect 6-of-6 from the free throw line.

Brewer posted double-figure point totals in all three wins last week – including a career-best 25-point scoring effort in the win over Ball State on Nov. 18.

BIG WIN IN HOME OPENER: The 63-point margin of victory vs. Trinity College on Nov. 12 marked the largest for FIU since a 70-point win (117-47) over Johnson & Wales on Nov. 9, 2018. 

The 111 points scored were the most for the Panthers since notching 111 vs. Carver College last season.

The Panthers have posted wins in each of their last nine home openers – dating back to a 69-60 loss vs. Stephen F. Austin on Sept. 17, 2011.

CLOSE CALL AT GEORGIA:  FIU led as late as the 10:04 mark of the second half before an 8-0 run by Georgia down the stretch handed them a 58-51 setback in the season opener for both teams on Nov. 9 in Athens.

The Panthers led by as many as seven points in a game that featured eight lead changes and three ties.

Junior Tevin Brewer paced FIU with a team-best 14 points.  Freshman Denver Jones also logged 13.

FIU was hot from the three-point stripe in the early going - connecting on 7-of-16 from deep in the opening 20 minutes before finishing the contest 9-of-27 overall.

Defensively, the Panthers limited the Bulldogs to just a 35.1 clip from the field and forced a total of 15 turnovers – 11 in the first half.

The Panthers got off to a hot start as they raced out to an 11-4 advantage in the early moments of the initial half as Brewer, Isaiah Banks and Eric Lovett all connected on a three-pointer in the opening five minutes of regulation.

FIU trailed for only a span of 2:16 in the first half before responding with a 12-4 spurt to close the period which was highlighted by a three-pointer that just beat the final buzzer of the first half by Denver Jones - sending the Panthers into the locker room with a 27-22 edge.

HOT SHOOTING EARLY:  The Panthers have enjoyed some solid shooting from the field as well as from beyond-the-arc over their initial eight games of 2021-22.

FIU has posted a solid .360 (80-of-222) clip from three-point range over the squad's opening eight contests.
 
Freshman Petar Krivokapic leads the squad with a .524 (11-of-21) clip from deep.

Junior Tevin Brewer leads the teams in treys while making 46.5 percent of his attempts (20-of-43).  He also is leading the Panthers with 47 assists.

Overall, the Panthers are shooting .458 (206-450) from the field over the first eight games of 2021-22.

WHAT'S BACK:  FIU returns a total of six players from last season's squad, including senior Eric Lovett, who averaged 10.5 points while connecting on a team-best 51 three-point field goals.

The Panthers also feature nine new faces on the 2021-22 roster entering opening night at Georgia, including five true freshmen.

FIU HEAD COACH JEREMY BALLARD:  FIU head coach Jeremy Ballard is entering his fourth season at the helm of the Panthers.

During his first year on the sidelines at FIU, Ballard guided the Panthers to a 20-14 record and a 10-8 mark in Conference USA (C-USA) play. The team's 20 wins marked just the third time in school history that FIU logged 20-or-more victories and were tied for the second most in a single season, while the 10 C-USA wins was the most since joining the conference.

In addition, the Panthers advanced to only their second postseason tournament in program history taking part in the Collegeinsider.com Tournament (CIT) and advancing to the second round. During the first round of the CIT, the Blue and Gold won their first-ever postseason tournament game with an 87-81 victory at Texas State.

Ballard was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Award, given to America's top first year head coach in Division I, and the Ben Jobe Award, presented to the top minority coach in Division I.

During his second season at FIU, Ballard's squad finished with a 9-9 league record, earning the fifth seed for the program's highest ever seeding for the C-USA Tournament. During the conference tournament, the Panthers Took down Rice 85-76 for the programs second ever win during the conference tournament.

The FIU squad led the nation in blocked shots (210) and swats per contest (6.6) during the 2019-20 campaign. The team also ranked 11th in three-point defense (28.8) and total steals (280). The Panthers 8.8 steals per game ranked 13th nationally.

Ballard arrived at FIU after serving as associate head coach at VCU in 2017-18. He has spent 14 seasons as an assistant coach at the Division I level with coaching stints at Pitt, Illinois State, VCU, Tulsa and his alma mater Colgate.

UP NEXT:  The Panthers hit the road for a pair of games beginning with a showdown at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 11 in a 1 p.m. ET tip. 

FIU will then travel to battle Jacksonville State on Wednesday, Dec. 15 at 6 p.m. ET.  Both games will air live on ESPN+.

TICKETS
For more information on FIU tickets to FIU basketball home games, including student ticketing, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit HERE.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
Fans are encouraged to follow the Panthers on Instagram (@FIUHoops), Twitter (@FIUHoops), and Facebook (Facebook.com/FIUMensBball) for all the latest Men's Basketball news.
 
General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.