FIU MEN'S BASKETBALL GAME NOTES
at Marshall (8-15, 1-9) – ESPN+
Thursday, Feb. 10 – 7 p.m. ET – Huntington, W.V. (Cam Henderson Center)
 
SETTING THE STAGE:  The Panthers (13-11, 3-8 C-USA) return to the road for a clash at Marshall on Thursday night beginning at 7 p.m. ET.  The game at Marshall will be FIU's only action this week as it will follow with a rare Saturday off before returning to action at home next Thursday, Feb. 17 vs. Middle Tennessee State.
 
The Panthers will be looking to snap a two-game skid following consecutive losses at home against Louisiana Tech (Feb. 5) and Charlotte (Feb. 7).  FIU will also be in search of its first road win this season when it travels to Huntington on Thursday night.

BROADCAST INFO:  Thursday's FIU-Marshall contest will air live on ESPN+ with Steve Cotton (play-by-play) and Charlie Hagley (analayst) on the call.

Thursday's meeting with the Thundering Herd can also be heard via - https://mixlr.com/fiuathletics - with the voice of the Panthers AJ Ricketts on the call.

LAST MEETING WITH MARSHALL:  FIU will be looking to sweep the season series from Marshall for the first time in program history when they meet on Thursday night – following a 70-66 win in the initial meeting between the programs this season on Jan. 20 in Miami.

In the win over the Thundering Herd, a trio of Panthers finished with double-figure scoring efforts, led by junior Tevin Brewer, who recorded 19 points and handed out four assists.  Javaunte Hawkins tabbed 17, including a key 13 to spark the second-half run.  Clevon Brown notched his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.

SERIES HISTORY VS MARSHALL:  The Panthers will be facing Marshall for the 14^th time in program history when they meet on Thursday night in Huntington.
 
FIU will be making its first trip to Huntington since March 6, 2019 – each of the last four meetings between the programs have been played in Miami.
 
In addition to looking to sweep the Thundering Herd for the first time in program history when they meet on Thursday, the Panthers will also be out to secure their first ever road win at Marshall.

MARSHALL (2-11; 2-10 C-USA)

11/29/10	L	79-88	A
1/30/14	L	60-68	A
1/15/15	W	66-62 (OT)	H
2/16/15	L	69-87	A
1/9/16	L	81-99	A
12/31/16	L	70-94	H
2/18/18	L	66-76	A
1/19/19	L	97-105	A
3/6/19	L	78-94	A
1/30/20	L	74-84	H
1/22/21	L	66-79	H
1/23/21	L	72-89	H
1/20/22	W	70-66	H

SCOUTING MARSHALL:  The Thundering Herd enters Thursday's matchup with FIU having dropped their last two contests, including an 88-64 loss at Charlotte in its most recent action on Feb. 5. 
Marshall is 8-15 overall and 1-9 in Conference USA play.  The Thundering Herd has dropped 11 of their last 12 games overall with the only victory coming at home against UAB by an 84-81 margin on Jan. 29.  Marshall is 7-6 on its home court this season.

The Herd is led by Taevion Kinsey who leads Conference USA with an average of 20.2 ppg.  He also ranks ninth among league leaders in field goal percentage at .423 (153-of-362).  Marshall's Obinna Anochili-Killen sits third among the conference's leaders in field goal percentage at .504 (115-of-228).

PANTHERS AMONG THE LEAGUE LEADERS:  Here is a look at where the Panthers sit among Conference USA leaders in a number of team and individual statistical categories:
 

Scoring	8th	72.3
Scoring Defense	9th	70.3
FT %	10th	.694
Scoring Margin	7th	+4.58
FG %	11th	.434
FG % Defense	3rd	.327
3-Point %	8th	.354
3-Point % Def	2nd	.302
Reb Margin	10th	-1.3
Blocks	4th	4.40
Assists	4th	14.64
Steals	10th	6.00
TO Margin	12th	-0.80
3-Point Made	1st	10.0

 
TEVIN BREWER AMONG BEST IN C-USA:  FIU junior Tevin Brewer has been enjoying a breakout campaign that has seem him record double-figure scoring efforts in 20 of 24 games this season – and his 14.8 ppg scoring average ranks 10th among C-USA leaders entering Thursday's showdown at Marshall.
 
Brewer also ranks second among conference leaders with an average of 6.0 assists per game (149 total).  He is third in assist/to ratio (2.1) and ninth in minutes played (32.7).
 
DENVER JONES SCORCHING IT FROM CHARITY STRIPE:  FIU's Denver Jones ranks second among Conference USA leaders in free throw percentage at .897 (70-of-78) entering Thursday's clash at Marshall.
 
Jones has made his last 17 free throw attempts entering Thursday's contest – with his last miss coming on his first attempt vs. Western Kentucky on Jan. 22.
 
SEARCHING FOR ROAD WIN:  FIU enters Thursday's game at Marshall in search of its first true road win this season.  The Panthers have not won a game this season away from their home floor since ripping off three straight wins on a neutral court in Fort Myers during the Jersey Mike's Classic in November.

CLUTCH SHOOTING AND DEFENSE LEADS TO HOME WINS:  The Panthers posted a pair of big wins on its home floor beginning on Jan. 20 with a come-from-behind 70-66 victory over Marshall before following that with a thrilling 86-83 win over Western Kentucky on Jan. 22.
 
In the win over Marshall, the Panthers ripped off a 10-0 spurt before eventually reclaiming the lead for good with 9:05 left on a jumper by Javaunte Hawkins that made the score 55-53. 
 
FIU would go on to extend its lead to as many as 11 points before holding on down the stretch to secure the win that saw the Panthers trail by as many as eight points. 
 
A trio of Panthers finished with double-figure scoring efforts vs. the Herd, led by junior Tevin Brewer, who recorded 19 points and handed out four assists.  Hawkins tabbed 17, including a key 13 in the final 20 to spark the second-half run.  Clevon Brown notched his second double-double of the season with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Sophomore Javaunte Hawkins and senior Eric Lovett each connected on clutch three pointers over the final 56 seconds of regulation to hold off a late surge by Western Kentucky and lift the FIU men's basketball team to an 86-83 victory.
 
The Panthers did not trail in the contest until there was just 2:05 left in regulation when a three pointer by Western Kentucky's Jarius Hamilton put the Hilltoppers ahead for the first time at 79-78.
 
HUGE RALLY LEADS TO WIN OVER BETHUNE:  The Panthers used a ferocious second-half rally to erase an 18-point deficit and post a 68-65 come-from-behind win over Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 5 in Miami.
 
The Panthers, who trailed 29-11 with 7:38 remaining in the opening half, outscored the Wildcats 48-30 over the final 20 minutes while shooting 56.7 percent (17-of-30) from the field during the second-half surge.
 
Denver Jones paced the Panthers to the victory with a game-high 18 points on 8-of-16 shooting.  He also nabbed three steals.  Lovett joined in double-figures with 17 points, including four treys.  Brewer tabbed 12 and added a career-best 11 assists for his first double-double of the season.
 
FIU POSTS BEST NON-LEAGUE MARK IN PROGRAM HISTORY:  The Panthers 68-65 victory over Bethune-Cookman on Jan. 5 pushed the Panthers mark in non-conference games this season to 10-3.
 
The 10-3 record in non-conference play marked the best single-season record against non-league competition in program history – besting the 9-3 mark set in 2019-20.
 
WINNING AT THE BANK:  FIU boasts a 10-3 mark at home – and own a +10.1 ppg scoring margin over those contests.  Just four of the Panthers' wins at home this season have been by less than a double-digit margin. 
 
FIU is also shooting a solid .481 (369-of-767) on its home floor.
 
PANTHERS DRILL SEASON-HIGH 17 TREYS IN WIN OVER ST. THOMAS:  FIU knocked in a season-high 17 three-point field goals in its 95-72 victory over St. Thomas on Jan. 1 at Ocean Bank Arena.
 
A total of seven Panthers connected on at least one three-point field goal as the team made 17-of-37 attempts for a 45.9 percent clip.
 
Senior Eric Lovett paced the Panthers with five treys, while Aquan Smart and Petar Krivokapic added three each.

JOEY RODRIGUEZ ELEVATED TO ASSISTANT HEAD COACH:  FIU men's basketball head coach Jeremy Ballard announced that assistant coach Joey Rodriguez has been elevated to the role of assistant head coach.

"I am thrilled to make the announcement of Joey Rodriguez as our assistant head coach," Ballard said.  "Coach Joey has played an integral role in the growth of our program since day one and has as great a basketball mind of any person I have ever been around."

Rodriguez, who is currently in his fourth season on the FIU staff, helped guide the Panthers to a 20-win season as well as a berth in the 2019 CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT), which resulted in the first postseason win in program history.

"He has fantastic relationships with players, possesses a mastery of the tactical aspects of the game, and excels at evaluating and recruiting high level student-athletes," Ballard added.  "I am constantly blown away by the seamless transition Joey has made from being the fantastic player who led VCU to a NCAA Final Four, to an elite young coach who is ready to run his own program.  Joey Rodriguez is undoubtedly a star in this profession, whom our entire staff is fortunate to be able to call a brother."

Rodriguez was a key member of Virginia Commonwealth University's (VCU) historic 2011 Final Four squad.  He started all 40 games while averaging 10.4 points and 5.4 assists per contest while leading the Rams to a 28-12 mark. During the NCAA Tournament run, he tabbed 9.0 points and 7.7 assists over the Rams' five victories.

DENVER JONES NAMED C-USA FROSH OF THE WEEK:  FIU's Denver Jones has been honored as the Conference USA Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week, for the period ending Dec. 12.

 Jones posted his first career double-double with 20 points and 13 rebounds in a 92-88 quadruple overtime loss at Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Dec. 11.  He also nabbed three steals vs. the Eagles.

Jones came up clutch in the opening overtime with a three-pointer that tied the game at 62-62 with 40 seconds left to force a second extra frame.

Jones then pushed it into a third overtime by connecting on a pair of clutch free throws with 15 seconds left in the second extra period to even the score at 72-72.

He also made a layup just five seconds after teammate Petar Krivokapic drilled a trey to cap a 5-0 run in the final seconds of the third overtime period to tie the contest once again at 82-82.

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.
 
FIRST HALF RUN KEYS WIN OVER STETSON:  FIU clinched the best start in program history and won its eighth consecutive game with a 72-65 triumph over Stetson on Dec. 4.
 
FIU held off a feisty Stetson squad that hung around for the majority of the contest despite holding the lead for a span of just 37 seconds.  The Panthers opened up some breathing room with a 16-1 run over a nine-minute stretch in the first half that saw it hold Stetson without a field goal for a total of 8:46.
 
Junior Tevin Brewer led the way in the victory with a game-high 22 points – the third consecutive game and fourth overall this season in which he has scored at least 22.  Brewer was key down the stretch as he recorded each of FIU's final nine points to close out the seven-point victory.
 
CLOSING IT OUT:  FIU put together back-to-back solid second half performances to post wins in a pair of games against North Florida (Nov. 28) and Florida Gulf Coast (Dec. 1).
 
The Panthers outscored North Florida by 17 in the second half in 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 24 games of 2021-22, more than half of the Panthers' field goals have come with an assist this season – entering Thursday's clash with Marshall.
 
Of FIU's 627 field goals this season, 354 have some with a helper – a rate of 56.4 percent.
 
The Panthers have posted assists on more than 50 percent of their field goals in 16 of their initial 24 games.
 
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 a 65-56 win 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 for the 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.
 
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:  FIU will return home on Thursday, Feb. 17 for a 7 p.m. ET tip against Middle Tennessee State at Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
 
TICKETS
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