SAN ANTONIO – The UTSA men's basketball team will continue a Conference USA-opening road swing with a 6 p.m. CT tipoff at FIU on Saturday night.
The game will be televised live on ESPN+ and will be broadcast live on CUSA TV, with the Voice of the Roadrunners, Andy Everett, calling the action live on Ticket 760 AM and goUTSA.com.
UTSA (6-8, 0-1 C-USA) is looking to bounce back after a league-opening setback on Thursday night at FAU, where the Owls opened up with a blistering offensive pace, making 15 of 23 shots to start the game. UTSA couldn't overcome the hot start and fell into a drought to open the second half, missing 15 straight shots and going 0 for its first 14 from deep in the second stanza.
The Roadrunners have won six of their last nine games after opening the season with an 0-5 mark with tough losses at Oklahoma, at No. 17/19 Utah State and vs. Oregon State. Part of the struggles came as the Roadrunners were seeking to replace a pair of stalwarts in the lineup, including three-year starting point guard Giovanni De Nicolao, who graduated and began a professional career in his native Italy. UTSA found its point guard in freshman Erik Czumbel, a native of Verona, Italy, who has helped UTSA to a 6-3 record as a starter in the lineup.
UTSA has been led in 2019-20 by the nation's No. 3 leading scorer, junior guard Jhivvan Jackson. Jackson, a native of Bayamon, Puerto Rico, leads C-USA with 24.9 points per game, adding 5.4 rebounds. He is joined in the backcourt by scoring dynamo Keaton Wallace, a junior guard who averages 17.1 points and 4.5 rebounds per game. Wallace is coming off 57 points combined over his last two games, including a 27-point outing at FAU on Thursday.
Junior guard Knox Hellums has established himself as a key member of the rotation, averaging 6.4 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, shooting 39 percent from 3-point range. Junior forward Luka Barisic has made 13 of 14 starts and is averaging 6.1 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. Freshman center Jacob Germany averages 5.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game, while freshman point guard Erik Czumbel averages 4.7 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Senior forward Atem Bior – who has been the first player off the bench in a team-high six games – averages 4.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game. Senior forward Byron Frohnen, who has made all 114 starts in his career – averages 3.3 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds per game.
As a team, UTSA is averaging 76.7 points per game, shooting 41.6 from the field and 33.5 percent from 3-point range. UTSA is averaging 40.4 rebounds per game – tops in the league – with 13.6 assists, 13.2 turnovers, 6.6 steals and 3.1 blocks per game. Opponents are shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 32.4 percent from distance.
FIU (10-4, 1-0 C-USA) – coached by former VCU assistant Jeremy Ballard in his second year – is coming off a 69-67 midday win over UTEP on Thursday. The Panthers have won seven of their last eight games and have losses at Mississippi State, NC State, UNC Wilmington and Minnesota in 2019-20. FIU, who led the nation in pace of play last year according to KenPom's adjusted tempo rankings, averages 81.4 points per game, shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 36.2 percent from distance. FIU is averaging 37.8 rebounds, 16.9 assists, 16.4 turnovers and 10.3 steals per game.
The Panthers are led in scoring by 6-foot-6 senior forward Devon Andrews, who sports averages of 16.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. Osasumwen Osaghae, a 6-9 senior, averages 13.0 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, while 6-5 senior Tejon Jacob sports 10.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Last year, Osaghae ranked fourth in the nation in blcoks (3.1 per game) and led C-USA in offensive rebounds, earning all-league defensive honors. Antonio Daye Jr., a 6-1 senior who averaged 8.3 points last year, averages 10.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.
The series between the two schools is tied at 5-5, with UTSA posting a 3-1 record vs. the Panthers under Coach Steve Henson. The Roadrunners won the last meeting, 100-67 in San Antonio in 2018-19 behind a 27-point outing from Keaton Wallace. UTSA last won at FIU in 2017-18, posting a 69-67 win in Miami.
In the last meeting between the two schools, UTSA routed FIU in San Antonio in 2018-19. UTSA held FIU to 40.0 percent shooting from the field and 5 of 28 from 3-point range, while shooting 58 percent with 10 of 26 made treys. UTSA had five players in double figures, led by Keaton Wallace's 27 points, six rebounds and four assists. Jhivvan Jackson had 13 points, six rebounds and six assists, while Giovanni De Nicolao added 16 points, five rebounds and two assists. Nick Allen had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds, while Atem Bior added 12 points and three boards. UTSA took a 50-30 lead into halftime and outscored FIU 50-37 in the second half for the 33-point win.
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