LINCOLN, Neb.– Men's basketball is set to battle 2025 NCAA Tournament participant Nebraska in a road matchup on Saturday at noon CT / 1:00 p.m. ET on B1G+.
The Inbound
The Panthers fly to Lincoln off a thrilling 101-49 win over Florida National in the season opener. The biggest crowd since the 2022-23 season came to see the home team start the season 1-0.
Nebraska is 1-0 as well entering this matchup following a win over West Georgia.
Series History
The Panthers and Cornhuskers have never faced off in program history, but this is not the Panthers' first foray into Big Ten play.
FIU has a 2-15 all-time record against current Big Ten opponents, and both of their victories came in the 1998-99 season - a 69-62 victory at Michigan on 11/13/98 and an 85-67 handling of Penn State in a neutral site matchup on 12/28/98. FIU's most recent Big Ten opponent was Minnesota in 2019-20, an 89-62 loss on 12/28/19.
Notable Storylines
- Jeremy Ballard is one win away from 100 career wins.
- Hamed Olayinka had the greatest day of his career so far, scoring 25 points and adding 12 rebounds, four blocks and four steals against Florida National. He's the eighth NCAA player since 2005-06 to record a stat line like that and first Panther since at least 2002-03.
- In his first game as a Panther, Zawdie Jackson could not have had a much better night, going 8-of-9 from the field and scoring 19 points. The last Panther to shoot 85 percent or better, minimum nine attempts, was Petar Krivokapic in 2023 against Akron.
- Thiago Sucatzky had eight assists in his collegiate debut, the fifth FIU freshman to do that since 2007.
FIU will head to LSU for another first-time bout next Thursday.
TICKETS
For more information on FIU men's basketball tickets, call 305-FIU-GAME or visit the FIU Athletics Online Ticket Office.
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.
