Brandon Gonzalez | Staff Writer
The FIU men’s basketball season is about to kick back into gear on Tuesday, Nov. 5 against a familiar foe, Rice of Houston, Texas.
For the Panthers, the 2023-2024 season was one of few highs and many lows. They regularly kept games close against divisional opponents but struggled against higher-ranked teams, with their worst performance being a 34-point loss to the FAU Owls on Dec. 13, 2023.
Entering his seventh season with the team, head coach Jeremy Ballard’s all-time winning percentage is a low 46% according to Sports-Reference.com. Ballard’s last winning season was 2019-2020, where the Panthers finished with a 19-13 record and defeated Rice in a Conference USA basketball championship series.
FIU will have to make up for the loss of sophomore guard Arturo Dean this season, as he finished as the team’s leading scorer. On the year, he averaged 13.4 points per game, 4.0 assists per game, and a nation-leading 3.3 steals per game.
Upon the 2023-2024 season’s conclusion, he entered the NCAA transfer portal and joined forces with the Oregon State Beavers.
Between Dean and his backcourt partner, senior guard Javaunte Hawkins, they generated much of the offense for a team that averaged under 75 PPG for the season.
Hawkins was second in scoring for the Panthers and was as important if not more so to FIU’s offense alongside Dean in the backcourt. Hawkins was FIU’s most productive threat from deep, averaging 38% on 3-point shots and making 88 with 229 attempts.
Without their presence and an offseason full of roster turnover, both new and familiar faces will have to step into bigger roles.
One such player could be senior guard Onyx Pastoriza, who could be primed for a breakout season and establish himself as a key part of the Panther’s rotation after getting almost no playing time last season.
In his only game last season, Pastoriza shot 75% from 3-point range and made 3 out of 4 3-point shots.
Someone different who played more games and has also shown a proclivity for hitting 3-point shots is senior guard Jaidon Lipscomb, who shot 36% from 3 last season on 127 attempts, making 46.
Making 3-pointers at a consistent rate was a major issue for the Panthers as a whole last season, so if Lipscomb or Pastoriza can get more minutes be prepared for either to let the ball fly.
Others could be the new gaggle of incoming players, such as a shifty 6’2 guard in freshman guard Ashton Williamson or the underrated all-around offensive big in 6’9 senior forward Jonathan Aybar.
Aybar’s season last year was unfortunately cut short due to an injury in his ankle, but he was averaging 7.2 PPG on 55% shooting while nabbing 3.6 RPG during his 21.8 MPG on the court.
In a recent interview with Kevin Barrel on the FIU Men’s Basketball X Page, Aybar made it clear that he’s excited to get going this season and prove that the Panthers are ready to shock some of their doubters after last season’s finish.
These two teams have not met since March 4, 2023, almost two seasons ago, when the Panthers beat the Owls by 7 for a final score of 90-83.
With last season’s final regular loss-to-win ratio of 11-22, playing a familiar opponent in Rice might be the away game pick-me-up the Panthers need to start their season off right.
Rice is coming off a season just as perilous as FIU, with a five-game losing streak to close out an 11-21 season for the Owls.
Their previous battles have generated high-scoring nights from both sides. But, without knowing who will be the primary offensive creator on either side, the defensive plan for both teams will have to be full-court and cautious at best.
Prediction:
FIU: 80
Rice: 78
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