Paws Up Preview – FIU MBB vs New Mexico State

Date: Thursday, January 11th

Time: 7PM EST

Opponent: New Mexico State Aggies (7-9)

TV: ESPN+

Radio: FIU3932 Student Radio (Carlton Gillespie & Kishon Frett)

Location: Miami, Florida (Ocean Bank Convocation Center)

Betting Line: NM State -6.5

MIAMI, FL – The FIU Panthers look to bounce back following a tough 70-63 loss against the Jacksonville State Gamecocks.

FIU has fallen to a 5-11 record and is winless against the Conference USA, at least for now. FIU has a chance to go back up to .500 with their conference record on Thursday as they take on the New Mexico State Aggies.

The Aggies, led by head coach Jason Hooten, currently have a 7-9 overall record but started well in the conference slate with a win against UTEP.

Despite the big win against the Miners, the Aggies have struggled to put points on the board, ranking as the second-worst offensive team in Conference USA. They’ve made up for that with their defense, which is ranked as the sixth-best in the conference.

For the Aggies, they also struggle in the rebounding department, ranking seventh in the conference in total rebounds. The team’s leading rebounder this season is 6’10” forward Kaosi Ezeagu who averages 5.6 total rebounds per game.

If there is one thing that stands out about the Aggies, it is their ball security. This season, the Aggies are towards the bottom of the conference when it comes to total turnovers, which in this case is good, but the Panthers are a speedy team that has caused a lot of turnovers these past couple of games.

A big reason why the Aggies haven’t been able to score much is highly because they don’t put up enough shots on the board, as they rank seventh in field goal percentage.

Granted, they rank fourth in three-point percentage this season, which shouldn’t bring much optimism for FIU s they’re a team that gives up a lot of shots due to the press defense not always working well.

This season, the Aggies leading scorer is guard Femi Odukale who is averaging 11.1 points per game, 5.5 rebounds per game, 2.1 assists, and is shooting 46.2 percent from the field. He has played in 10 games this season for New Mexico State.

As for the Panthers, Okechukwu Okeke was a spark plug off the bench in the second half of Saturday’s game. Ending the night with 12 points, three rebounds, and one block in 15 minutes of play was a big reason the Panthers were able to heavily cut down the 18-point deficient.

Although Arturo Dean continues to do his thing on the defensive side of the ball, the Panthers sophomore guard has been heavily guarded by teams, as he only finished with nine points against the Gamecocks on Saturday, but still racked up five assists.

The Panthers will tip off against the Aggies on Thursday, January 11th at 7pm. This will be the Panthers’ first conference game at home. Alex Krutchik, Jake Gibson, and Kevin Barral will all be on-site to cover the action.