MIAMI, Fla. – The Jacksonville State men's basketball team is in Miami, Fla., this weekend for a two-game set against Florida International. The first contest with the Panthers is schedule for Friday, Dec. 4 at 6 p.m. Jax State wraps up the trip in the Sunshine State with a 1 p.m. game Sunday, Dec. 6 at 1 p.m.
 
The Gamecocks have won three in a row going into the weekend to begin the season with a 3-1 mark. JSU swept last weekend's games at South Alabama's Goldie and Herman Ungar Memorial Tournament, claiming wins over Florida Atlantic, Mobile and the hosting Jaguars. It's the best start to a season for the men's basketball team since the 2017-18 season when the Gamecocks were 3-1 through their first four games.

Both games will broadcast on C-USA TV with AJ Ricketts (play-by-play) and Daniel Torres (analysis) on the call. A subscription is required to watch C-USA TV.
 
Fans can listen to "The Voice" of the Gamecocks, Mike Parris, on their local Gamecock Radio Network affiliate. In Jacksonville, WLJS can be found at 91.9 FM, 98.1 FM and 102.1 FM, and WVOK in Oxford is located at 97.9 on the FM dial. Fans can also listen to WLJS online and on the TuneIn app. Parris is back behind the mic for his 38th season broadcasting Jacksonville State basketball.
 
The Gamecocks will have a week before their next game upon returning from Miami, opening the Ohio Valley Conference portion of their schedule Sunday, Dec. 14 at Tennessee Tech. After the matchup in Cookeville, JSU hosts the Golden Eagles Wednesday, Dec. 16 at Pete Mathews Coliseum at 7:30 p.m.

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Men's Basketball - Game 5
Jacksonville State (3-1) at Florida International (3-0)
December 4, 2020 | 6 p.m. CT
Miami, Fla. | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (5,000)  

FOLLOW LIVE
Listen: Gamecock Radio Network
Watch: C-USA TV
Live Stats: Click Here
 
GAME NOTES
Jacksonville State Notes
FIU Game Notes

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Tipoff Tidbits
• JSU meets FIU for just the fourth and fifth times this weekend. The two programs played three games against each other as members of the Trans Atlantic Athletic Conference (A-Sun) from 1995-1998.
• JSU claimed its first road win against a Sun Belt opponent Sunday with a 77-73 win over South Alabama. It was just the third meeting between the two programs.
• After leading JSU in scoring at Alabama, junior transfer Demaree King scored a career-high 24 points at South Alabama. The guard had 15 in his Division I debut against the Crimson Tide on Wednesday.
• Jacksonville State is now 12-5 in neurtal-site games since Ray Harper arrived for the 2016-17 season.
• Junior transfer Demaree King scored 15 points off the bench in his Division I debut against Alabama.
• Head coach Ray Harper owns 83 wins in four seasons at JSU, ranking third in program history in D1 wins behind former head coach James Green (89, eight seasons).

Series History
• FIU leads the series with JSU, 3-0
• The three meetings between Gamecocks and Panthers came while both programs were members of the Trans Atlantic Athletic Conference - now the Atlantic Sun - between 1995 and 1998.
• The last time the two teams met was Jan. 3, 1998 in Miami. FIU won the game 106-88.
• This weekend marks the fourth and fifth marrtings between the two teams.
 
A win would…
• Give Jacksonville State its first win in the series with FIU.
• Improve Ray Harper's record as Jacksonville State's head coach to 84-57, 515-184 overall.
• Give the Gamecocks their first 4-1 start to a season since the 2017-18 campaign. 
• Be Harper's sixth overall win over the Panthers and 21st overall victory against Conference USA teams.
• Be Jacksonville State's second win over a C-USA opponent on the road and first since defeating East Carolina on Dec. 18, 1999 in Greenville, N.C.

Storylines
• For the first time in the program's history, Jacksonville State will play two teams in back-to-back dates consecutively. In an unusual road trip to Miami, Fla., thanks to COVID-19, the Gamecocks will play Florida International on Friday, Dec. 4, take Saturday off and square off against FIU again in Sunday, Dec. 6. Following the trip to the Sunshine State, JSU travels to Tennessee Tech on Sunday, Dec. 13 to open the OVC portion of its schedule. TTU returns the game just three days later on Wednesday, Dec. 16 at Pete Mathews Coliseum.
• JSU is off to a 3-1 start to begin a season for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign. That team improved to 4-1 before suffering its season loss. In Harper's second season in Jacksonville, the head coach led the Gamecocks to a 23-13 mark that season - the second-most wins in a single season for a Division I JSU team.
• Thanks in large part to junior Demaree King, the Gamecocks rank 33rd in the nation for 3-point field goals per game at 10.0. JSU has hit 22 3-pointers this season, ranking 22nd in the NCAA, and King ranks eighth in the nation with an average of 4.0 treys per contest. He is ninth in the country for total 3-pointers with 12.
• Through four games, Jacksonville State ranks 30th in the nation for total rebounds, tallying 134 boards. At 44.67 rebounds per game, ranking 36th, Jax State is 76th in the NCAA with 29.33 defensive rebounds per game and 27th for 15.33 offensive rebounds per contest. Kayne Henry is JSU leading rebounder with 21.
• Junior point guard Jalen Finch had his best game in a JSU uniform Monday, Nov. 30 when he led the Gamecocks in points (17), rebounds (6) and assists (7) in an 85-66 win over Mobile. The Raleigh, N.C., native is in his first season in Jacksonville after transferring from Florida SouthWestern State in Fort Myers Florida.
 
About Florida International
• The Panthers are 3-0 to begin the season with a pair of wins over Flagler College and a 96-76 win over Central Michigan.
• Head coach Jeremy Ballard is in his third season at FIU, carrying a 42-27 record. He has never coached against the Gamecocks.
• FIU topped Central Michigan 96-76 on Tuesday night. Overall, FIU shot 50.7% for the game and 43.9% from beyond the arc. The team was a three-pointer shy of tying the program record set against Cleveland State last season.
• Individually, five Panther players scored in double figures against Central Michigan. Junior guard Tevin Brewer tallied 14 points and went 4-4 from three. Defensively, junior forward Anthony Mason added seven rebounds and five blocked shots.
• FIU enters the game ranked third in the country with 14.0 three-pointers per game. The team is also seventh nationally with 42 threes made and eighth with 123 threes taken this season.
• Junior guard Antonio Daye, Jr. sits 19th in the country and first in Conference USA with nine total steals. The junior is also 28th in the NCAA and second in C-USA with 3.00 steals per contest.
• Senior forward Radshad Davis's 10 three pointers this season sits 28th nationally and first in the league. The forward's three-point percentage (50%) ranks 57th in the country and sixth in the conference.

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