MIAMI — FIU’s men’s basketball program gears up for its Conference USA (CUSA) slate in 2025, welcoming Middle Tennessee to the Ocean Bank Convocation Center on Thursday evening.
The Panthers (6-7) will host the Blue Raiders (9-4) in their conference lid-lifer on Thursday night at 7 p.m.
Thursday, Jan. 2 vs. Middle Tennessee
Time/Site: 7 pm ET / Ocean Bank Convocation Center
TV: ESPN+
FIU will look to continue its winning ways at home, having won its last three contests at the OBCC. Most recently, the Panthers notched a convincing, wire-to-wire win over Utah Tech to claim victory in the final game of this season’s CUSA-WAC Challenge.
The Panthers were led by Travis Gray, who matched a season-high with 15 points off the bench. Asim Jones continues to improve as the season goes on, pouring in 14 points and a season-high seven assists. Fellow guard Ashton Williamson earned the start and dished out six assists and had nine points.
Jayden Brewer was out due to an illness in the win over Utah Tech, but has been having an outstanding junior season for the Panthers. He sits 10th in CUSA with his 14.5 ppg and leads FIU in points, rebounds and field goal percentage.
Jones now sits 10th in the league with 3.1 assists per game and is also 10th in CUSA with 1.5 steals per game. Vianney Salatchoum has been excellent defensively with 2.2 blocks per game, second in CUSA and 17th-nationally.
In last season’s meeting at home, FIU fell to MTSU 68-66 after leading 39-32 at the half. The Panthers trailed 68-66, but had the final possession, a layup which fell just short to give the Blue Raiders the narrow victory.
SCOUTING MTSU
Middle Tennessee most recently fell to No. 1-ranked Tennessee on the road on Dec. 23, after leading the Volunteers 40-34 at the half. The Blue Raiders will be well rested with nine days off since their last competition.
For MTSU, Justin Porter averages a team-high 15.2 ppg and will be their top option offensively. The Blue Raiders also have a solid secondary scorer in Essam Mostafa, scoring 12.5 points per game.
SOCIAL MEDIA
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