FIU’s breakthrough men’s basketball season ended with a thud last Tuesday, getting beat by host Wisconsin-Green Bay 98-68 in the second round of the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
Still, FIU (20-14) finished just one win short of the program record for single-season victories. The first-round win against Texas State was FIU’s first-ever postseason victory.
The Panthers failed to be among the 68 teams to qualify for the NCAA Tournament or the 32 invited to the NIT, but this first season under coach Jeremy Ballard still ranks as huge progress for the program.
Whether the Panthers can grow from here will depend in part on how successfully they can replace graduating point guard Brian Beard, who led Conference USA in steals (2.