MIAMI — FIU's men's basketball program hosts Jax State in Conference USA (CUSA) action on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 6 p.m. ET inside the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
The Panthers (9-18, 4-8 CUSA) will be looking to build on a statement victory over Liberty (16-11, 5-7 CUSA) on Thursday evening, improving their record to 4-2 at home in CUSA play. After Thursday night's results, FIU still has a chance to finish as high as fourth in the league table, pending the results from others and its final four regular season CUSA contests.
FIU will face off with Jax State (13-14, 5-7 CUSA), of which it matched up with previously in the Panthers' CUSA opener on the road on Jan. 10. FIU battled with Jax State, but a 35-point performance from KyKy Tandy secured the Gamecocks a 70-63 win.
Arturo Dean continues to maintain his national lead in total steals (90) and steals per game (3.46) and is approaching Brian Beard Jr.'s FIU single-season record of 101.
Dean and Javaunte Hawkins each had 20 points in FIU's victory over Liberty and continue to lead the Panther offense. The duo has combined for 25.4 ppg for FIU this season and lead the Panthers in most statistical categories.
SCOUTING JAX STATE
JSU won its most recent contest, defeating Middle Tennessee at home on Feb. 24. Prior to that, the Gamecocks had hit a tough stretch, losing 4-of-5.
Similar to FIU, Jax State's final push in the regular season gives an opportunity to climb or fall in the CUSA standings with four teams currently at 5-7 and two at 4-8.
Tandy continues to lead CUSA in scoring with an average of 17.7 ppg. He has especially had success from distance, knocking down 2.6 threes per game on 37.4 percent shooting, of which both rank in the top-five in CUSA
As a team, Jax State is strong defensively, holding opponents to just 65.0 ppg, second-best in CUSA. The Gamecocks are also one of CUSA's top rebounding sides with a plus-6.1 margin on the glass.
