FIU hosts Miami to conclude Homestand

[FIUVoice]

Our beloved Golden Panthers play host to UCG on Saturday night at Pharmed Arena at 7 p.m. I have heard Miami is bringing a crap load of people, so FIU needs to show up in force. At halftime of the game, the school will retire the number of Raja Bell (13).

Here is the notes from fiusports.com heading into the game:

The FIU Men’s Basketball team hopes to end its seven-game home stand on a winning note when the Golden Panthers take on an undefeated University of Miami squad from the ACC...FIU will retire the uniform number of alumnus and current Phoenix Suns guard Raja Bell during a special halftime presentation...UM leads the all-time series, 10-1, and won the only game ever played in Pharmed Arena, 89-72, on Dec. 6, 2004...The Golden Panthers snapped a three-game losing streak last Wednesday with their 76-63 win over Buffalo behind the guard play of junior Kenneth "Redd" White who scored a career-high 19 points and sophomore Erick Nsangou who recorded his first career double-double with 15 points/10 rebounds...White, who has converted his last 12 free throw attempts, which is one short of the school record, ranks second in the SBC with a 89.5 free throw percentage...FIU beat UB shooting a season-high 58.1-percent (25-43) from the field, marking the fourth time in six games that the Golden Panthers have converted 50-percent-or-more of their shots. FIU ranks tops in the Sun Belt Conference with a .477 field goal percentage...At 7-0, UM is off to its best start since winning 14 straight to open the 2001-02 season. Miami had won its first seven games of the season just three other times in program history...Miami is shooting an ACC-best 44.6-percent from beyond the 3-point arc, which is better than its 43.0 field goal percentage...UM fifth-year senior Anthony King is the ACC’s active career-leading shot blocker (181) and posted the league’s top block performance of the season with seven vs. Marist...FIU’s Russell Hicks (1.33) and Badara Ndiaye (1.20) rank fifth and sixth respectively in the Sun Belt for blocked shots per game...The Golden Panther take the week off for final exams before opening the 2007-08 Sun Belt Conference schedule on the road at Arkansas-Little Rock Saturday, Dec. 15 and Middle Tennessee on Tuesday, Dec. 18.


P.S. There will be a special guest P.A. Announcer for the men's game on Saturday. Should be a fun one, I will still be there doing somethings behind the scenes.

I hope to see alot of you there and cheering on the GOLDEN PANTHERS OF FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY!!!!!

[FIUFanatic]

Good to hear...I hope everybody in Miami can attend the game and cheer for FIU.....Is the PA announcer a graduate of FIU?

[MaXx]

I hope the announcer isn't the Canes guy. He's horrible.

[kevinkagy]

I'll be there! GO PANTHERS!!

[pikedanny]

The special guest announcer is the HEAT announcer.

[FIUFanatic]

I suspected that....FIU grad and long time former FIU PA announcer Mike Biamonte....That is cool if it is him....

[FIUVoice]

it is Mike Biamonte that will be announcing the game tonight and the retirement of Raja's number will be done at halftime. There is alot of rumors of alot of UM fans tonight so the team needs as many FIU fans as there is in MIami to outnumber the UCG.

I'm sitting courtside right now as they are testing the Bell ceremony stuff.

[MiRi]

That was a lot of fun, even if we lost. I got to meet Mike B. He's such a nice person. It was great to have him with us.