Trojans Set to Host FIU

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TROY, Ala. – The Troy men's basketball team opens a three-game homestand on Thursday night as FIU visits Sartain Hall on a night when 218 Troy student-athletes will be recognized.

Troy and FIU tip-off at 7:30 p.m. as Trojan student-athletes from all sports will be honored at halftime for earning 3.0 GPAs in the fall semester. The 218 students receiving a 3.0 GPA is the highest number of student-athletes that Troy has seen become a part of the 3.0 Club.

“It's incredible,” said Matt Mayotte, Director of Student-Athlete Services. “It's a real tribute to the importance that our coaches are committing to academics and the efforts of all the staff in the office of student-athlete services.”

The Trojans (7-13, 2-7) enter Thursday's contest after a tough loss at South Alabama on Sunday. Troy erased a 20-point, second-half deficit and held a lead with under two minutes to go before the Jags hit a game-winning shot with 1.8 seconds remaining on the clock.

The Panthers (5-15, 2-6) are coming off of a home loss to WKU on Saturday as they fell to the Hilltoppers, 61-51, at U.S. Century Bank Arena. FIU and head coach Isiah Thomas have won four of their five games this season away from Miami.

For ticket information, call 1-877-878-WINS (9467).

Live video and audio can be found via Trojans All-Access at the above links. Fans can also follow the action through live stats at the above link as well.

For a stats and a full recap from Sartain Hall on Thursday night, be sure to check back with TroyTrojans.com. For live updates throughout the game, be sure to follow Troy on Twitter at @TroyAthletics or become a fan on Facebook.

Gameday Storylines

- Troy will look to rebound from a last-second road loss to South Alabama as they welcome FIU to Sartain Hall to start a three-game homestand.

- The Trojans overcame a 20-point second-half deficit and held a lead with less than two minutes to go before South Alabama hit a shot with 1.8 seconds to go to pick up a 68-66 win.

- The Trojans enter Thursday's game as the third best 3-point shooting team in the country as they average 9.7 made 3-pointers game. Florida (10.6) leads the nation while Troy has made 10+ triples in three of its last four games.

- The outside shooting creates long rebounds which allow the undersized Trojans to grab 15.0 offensive boards per game, the second best mark in the Sun Belt (South Alabama) and ninth best in the NCAA.

- Troy doesn't waste the extra possessions they create as they commit just 12.8 turnovers per game. Pair that with the 15.4 turnovers they force, and Troy's +2.6 turnover margin is the best in the Sun Belt. Troy is one of just four Sun Belt teams with more assists than turnovers this season.

- The Troy offense features a balanced attack as five different players have led the team in scoring this season. Will Weathers 11.6 points per game average is tops on the team.

- The junior point guard doesn't just score, he is also one of the best distributors in the nation as his 6.3 assists per game lead the Sun Belt and rank 13th in the NCAA.

The Series

- Troy trails the all-time series with FIU, 5-6, with all 11 meetings coming with both sides as members of the Sun Belt. The Trojans are 3-2 against the Panthers in at Sartain Hall.

- Last season FIU won both matchups between the two teams, with both meetings going into overtime.

- The first meeting last season came in Troy as FIU won 81-80 thanks to a DeJuan Wright layup with seven seconds left in overtime. Vernon Taylor led Troy with 23 points while Will Weathers had nine assists.

- The second meeting came in the regular season finale for both teams as FIU came out on top again in overtime, this time 83-76 in Miami. Taylor and Travis Lee led Troy with 18 points each while Weathers had 10 assists.

Looking at FIU

- The Panthers come in having lost two straight, both at home, to Florida Atlantic and WKU. In their last road game, FIU defeated South Alabama, 65-62, back on Jan. 21.

- FIU is 2-6 in Sun Belt play with both wins coming on the road as they also defeated WKU away from home. The Panthers are 5-15 overall after posting a 3-9 non-conference record.

- Two of the three non-conference wins came against quality opponents as FIU knocked off George Mason and Coastal Carolina.

- FIU averages just 61.4 points per game, the second fewest in the Sun Belt, but Phil Taylor is fifth in the conference in scoring at 14.2 points per game.

- DeJuan Wright is actually FIU's leading scorer at 16.5 per game, which would be the best in the league, but he missed seven games earlier in the season due to injury and doesn't currently qualify for the conference's statistical rankings.

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