Who’s Playing
FIU Panthers @ Sam Houston Bearkats
Current Records: FIU 7-9, Sam Houston 7-9
How To Watch
What to Know
We’ve got another exciting Conference USA matchup on schedule as the Sam Houston Bearkats and the FIU Panthers are set to tip at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday at Bernard G. Johnson Coliseum. The Bearkats are strutting in with some offensive muscle as they’ve averaged 79.1 points per game this season.
FIU is facing Sam Houston at the wrong time: Sam Houston suffered their first home loss of the season on Thursday and they’re likely out for redemption. They fell 76-68 to the Flames. The Bearkats just can’t catch a break and have now endured three losses in a row.
Sam Houston’s defeat shouldn’t obscure the performances of Lamar Wilkerson, who almost dropped a double-double on 25 points and nine rebounds, and Marcus Boykin, who posted 16 points in addition to six rebounds and five assists.
Sam Houston struggled to work together and finished the game with only eight assists. Sadly, that’s becoming something of a trend for them; they were averaging 15.7 assists per game earlier this season, but in their last five matches they’ve fallen to only 10.4 per game.
Meanwhile, FIU ended up a good deal behind La. Tech on Thursday and lost 81-64. The Panthers haven’t had much luck with the Bulldogs recently, as the team’s come up short the last four times they’ve met.
The loss doesn’t tell the whole story though, as several players had good games. One of the most active was Jayden Brewer, who scored 15 points. Another player making a difference was Jonathan Aybar, who went 6 for 8 en route to 15 points.
Sam Houston’s loss ended a 13-game streak of wins at home dating back to last season and dropped them to 7-9. As for FIU, their defeat dropped their record down to an identical 7-9.
Keep an eye on the arc in Saturday’s game: Sam Houston has made nailing deep shots look easy this year this season, having averaged 8.7 threes per game. It’s a different story for FIU, though, as they’ve been averaging only 5.8. Given Sam Houston’s sizable advantage in that area, FIU will need to find a way to close that gap.
Sam Houston took their win against FIU when the teams last played back in March of 2024 by a conclusive 78-59. Does Sam Houston have another victory up their sleeve, or will FIU turn the tables on them? We’ll have the answer soon enough.
Series History
Sam Houston has won 2 out of their last 3 games against FIU.
- Mar 13, 2024 – Sam Houston 78 vs. FIU 59
- Feb 15, 2024 – Sam Houston 70 vs. FIU 56
- Feb 03, 2024 – FIU 68 vs. Sam Houston 61
