The Cardinals have hit the road and won’t play another home game for several weeks. They are currently in Miami and will play the FIU Panthers on Saturday . Tip-off is set for 6:07 p.m. and the game will be televised on FOX Sports 1. The Cardinals lead this series 2-0 and won 79 to 55 last December when the teams played. Louisville has won five straight heading into the game Saturday. It will be the highest ranked team that FIU has ever hosted and the only defending national champion.

This FIU basketball team had a pretty rough off season losing Richard Pitino to Minnesota and also had several transfers after finding out that they would be getting a post season ban this year due to academic issues. They did hire another good coach in Anthony Evans and despite losing three starters and seven letter-winners from last year’s team they do return 46.5 percent of their scoring from the 2012-2013 campaign.

FIU comes into Saturday’s game averaging 73.7 points-per-game, while shooting 46.4% from the floor and 34.6% from 3-point range. The Panthers are converting 68% of its attempts from the free-throw line. Defensively, FIU is allowing 65.5 points-per-game as the opposition is shooting 39.1% from the floor. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents 415-335 with a rebounding margin of +8 averaging 41.5 boards-per-contest. FIU’s 493 total rebounds currently 5th in the nation.

Leading the Panthers offensively is SR Tymell Murphy (16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds), SR Rakeem Buckles (14.7 points, 10.5 rebounds), JR Dennis Mavin (10 points, 4 rebounds) and SR Raymond Taylor (12.2 points, 2.7 rebounds). Both Murphy and Buckles have combined for 45 total blocks – the most by any duo in C-USA this season and both are very good rebounding and offensive threats. Mavin enters Saturday’s game as the team’s leader in steals with 21 and is averaging 1.8 steals-per-game. Taylor a transfer from FAU was a first-team All-Sun Belt selection and posted a top-35 assist rate. He is averaging a impressive 6.2 a game this season.
Other contributors are SOPH Jerome Frink (9.6 points, 5.2 rebounds) who’s big on the offensive boards, Seven-foot SR Ivan Jurkovic who was starting at the end of last season, but the Croatian has played reserve minutes this year, and JR guard Marco Porcher Jimenez (7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds) has proved to be a reasonable 3-point threat at 35%.

Florida International
2013-14 OVERALL RANKINGS
-POINTS PER GAME
72.3
204th
OVERALL
-REBOUNDS PER GAME
41.1
25th
OVERALL
-ASSISTS PER GAME
11.8
261st
OVERALL
-FIELD GOAL PCT
.461
114th
OVERALL

Kenpom Ranks
Overall – #215
Defense Adjustment Efficiency
-104.6 ranks 193rd
Offensive Adjustment Efficiency
-101.1 ranks 222nd

I would be lying if I said that this game didn’t loom in my mind a little. This FIU team is very athletic and their hustle stats are off the charts. This is one of the top rebounding groups in the nation. The game Saturday is literally going to be their NCAA. They don’t get a chance for post season play so this is it for them. They are also throwing out all of the stops as the game is a white out. That little gym where the Panthers are 210-170 all-time, had 17 winning seasons including a perfect 13-0 mark during the 1992-93 campaign will be as hostile as the Cardinals will see this season. Coach Pitino wanted a good road test before Kentucky and he will get it in this game. Our guys have been trending upwards and Saturday they will have every facet of their game taken to task. I really feel like this one will be close for a bit, but do think the Cards overall talent at every position will win out in the end. Toughest challenge yet for our team other than UNC. Will be exciting…. Go Cards!