FRISCO, Texas (March 11, 2020) – The fifth-seeded FIU men's basketball team began the C-USA Basketball Championships with a contest against 12th-seeded Rice on Wednesday night. The Panthers topped the Owls 85-76, advancing to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
With the win, FIU improves to 19-13 this year, while Rice moves to 15-17 this season. The victory is FIU's first at the C-USA Tournament since defeating UTSA in 2015. The Panthers are now 2-4 all-time in the C-USA Tournament.
The Panther squad began the game shooting 45.5% from the field in the first half and led Rice 35-28 when the teams went to the locker rooms.