MIAMI– Men's basketball (2-2) opens one of the best college basketball weeks of the year with an MTE bout against James Madison, the first of three total games in the FIU MTE.
The Inbound
The Panthers gave Coach Ballard his 100th career win with a 104-80 rout over Fort Lauderdale. The 104 points were a season-high, and several different Panthers had big nights in the win as dunks were flying in the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
JMU enters at 3-3, and just completed a thrilling home win over Towson last week. The Dukes have lost to a team the Panthers will play, dropping a contest at Long Island.
Series History
JMU and FIU have met three times in the series history with the Dukes, but not since 2017. They have won all three meetings and the last one in Miami, although the game itself was not at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center. JMU never trailed and toppled the Panthers 76-67 on the campus of Barry University on Dec. 16, 2017.
The only other time the Dukes have visited the 305 was in 2009, an 81-68 handling of FIU a little over sixteen years ago on 11/22/2009. JMU holds a 1-0 edge in Harrisonburg.
Notable Storylines
- Jeremy Ballard earned his 100th career win in the previous victory over Fort Lauderdale, the second coach in school history to do so. He's nine wins from surpassing Rich Walker as the winningest coach in FIU history.
- Six different Panthers scored in double figures against Fort Lauderdale, but perhaps none more impressive than Ashton Williamson, who had a career-high 19 on 7-9 shooting and 4-5 threes, adding six assists in what was a breakout night.
- It was also a breakout night for Brit Harris, who had 16 points and hit a trio of threes. Harris is 71 points from 1,000 in his career.
- Corey Stephenson continues to ball out, recording a second straight double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Not only is he the first FIU player to have back-to-back double-doubles since Osasumwen Osaghae in 2020, but he still stakes his claim on second in the country in offensive rebounds after another six on Tuesday.
- Julian Mackey tied the school record for free throw makes in a game without a miss, going 12-12 against the Eagles and joining Phil Taylor (2011) and Donte McGill (2016) as other Panthers to achieve that.
- Ibrahim Olajuwon continues to be a great surprise to begin this season. Drawing his first career start, he made the most of it, scoring 14 and grabbing seven boards. After missing most of last season, he's become a reliable piece, averaging 7.3 points off the bench.
- The Panthers are top-20 in the country in offensive rebounds per game (5th), turnovers forced per game (18th) and rebounds per game (19th).
FIU will get a day off before wrapping up the MTE with Omaha on Wednesday.
TICKETS
For more information on FIU men's basketball tickets, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit the FIU Athletics Online Ticket Office.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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General athletic news can also be found at @FIUSports on Facebook and @FIUAthletics on Twitter and Instagram.
