Bautista Samperi | Sports Director
The FIU men’s basketball team will host the Florida Gulf Coast University Eagles on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 7 p.m., at the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
The Panthers are coming off a 1-1 record during the FIU MTE, as they lost to James Madison 72-80, and defeated Omaha 74-61.
Against the Mavericks, Four different Panthers scored 10 or more, Corey Stephenson had 15 points, 9 reb., 3 ast, Julian Mackey finished with 12 points while Zawdie Jackson contributed with 10 points.
The leading scorer for the team was Brit Harris who scored a season-high 24 points on 9-16 from the field with four three pointers.
FIU (3-3 record) will face back-to-back-to-back games against state rivals beginning with FGCU. After the Eagles, the Panthers will host Jacksonville on Saturday, Dec. 6 and will travel to Coral Gables to take-on the University of Miami Tuesday, Dec. 16.
With only five games to go before FIU starts to face conference USA opponents, the team is looking for consistency. While they hold a respectable 3-3 record, they have not been able to win back-to-back games yet during the season.
On the bright side, the team coached by Jeremy Ballard will have the advantage of facing their first three CUSA opponents at home.
Their first rival will be the Liberty University Flames on Dec. 28, at 2 p.m., followed by New Mexico State, also the first team they will face in 2026, on Jan. 2. They will round out the home stand by hosting the University of Texas El Paso on Jan. 4.
Starting conference play at home looks to be an advantage for the team as they are yet to win away from home. Currently, the team has a 3-1 home record, but an 0-2 record away from the Ocean Bank Convocation Center.
The team will look to improve their road numbers as they aim to improve on last season’s performance away from home as they finished with a 1-13 record.
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