MIAMI — FIU's men's basketball program welcomes Long Island University to the Ocean Bank Convocation Center on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 6 p.m. ET.
The Panthers host the Sharks in their final game of a three-game homestand before an 11-day break from competition. FIU (2-7) has split the opening two contests of this stretch thus far, defeating Kennesaw State 91-84 before falling to FGCU 68-65.
Heading into this tilt, Head Coach Jeremy Ballard remains one win shy of overtaking the top spot for most wins in FIU Men's Basketball history.
Arturo Dean produced a historic performance with a program-record 10 steals in FIU's matchup with FGCU. Dean had held the top-spot nationally in steals (38) and steals per game (4.22) for a majority of the season.
As a team, FIU has shown its strength in that area as well, ranked second in the NCAA in steals per game (12.6) and fourth in turnovers caused per game (19.11).
SCOUTING LIU
The Sharks (1-5) make the trip to South Florida for two contests against Miami schools, facing off with both FIU (Dec. 2) and the University of Miami (Dec. 6).
LIU has played just one home game so far, a season-opening 82-67 defeat to Air Force. The Sharks will not have another home contest until a Dec. 28 matchup with UAlbany.
The Sharks are coached by former-NBA player Rod Strickland. Strickland's Sharks went just 3-23 in his opening season, but LIU has a large amount of fresh faces on this year's team.
Freshman guard Eric Acker has made an immediate impact for LIU as the Sharks' leading scorer with 14.2 ppg.
