After a massive win over Western Kentucky, head coach Jeremy Ballard and the FIU Men’s Basketball program (15-16, 8-12) clinched a spot in the 2025-26 Conference USA tournament as the eight seed. They will face the Missouri State Bears (14-17, 8-12), the nine seed, in the first round of the tournament on Tuesday, March 10, at 6:30 pm.
FIU Season In Review
The Panthers had a five-win improvement with their overall and conference record, going from 10 to 15 wins and then going from three to eight Conference USA wins.
FIU finished the season as the third-best scoring offense, averaging 80.9 points per game, but also allowed the most points per game (78.0).
Leading the charge was forward Corey Stephenson, who finished the regular season averaging 17.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and was shooting 45.2% from the field. The Cal State transfer finished the season making the All-Conference Second Team.
🏆Awards Szn🏆
Congrats to Corey for being named @HoopsHD All-CUSA Team & Ju for being named their Sixth Man of the Year! đź’Ş pic.twitter.com/88wbJ7tQz4
— FIU Men's Basketball (@FIUHoops) March 8, 2026
After being the worst rebounding team last season, the Panthers finished sixth in rebounds per game (37.9), primarily thanks to freshman center Eric Dibami, who averaged 7.2 rebounds per game, eighth in CUSA. He finished the season making the All-Conference freshman team.
A big reason for FIU’s high-scoring offense was finishing third in the conference in offensive rebounds per game (13.0). On the flipside, the Panthers were eighth in defensive rebounds per game (24.9).
FIU has forced the most turnovers per game this season, leading to having such a fast-paced offense that we are accustomed to under Ballard.
Scouting the Bears
The Missouri State Bears enter this game with a 14-17 overall record, going 8-10 against conference opponents. Forward Keith Palek II is their biggest weapon, leading the team in both points (17.8) and assists (3.8) per game. Michael Osei-Bonsu leads the team in rebounds (7.4) and steals (1.2) per game.
Mo State averages 75.3 points per game, which is eighth in the conference. They give up 73.9 points per game on defense, which is seventh in CUSA. The Bears are the second-worst team in the conference when it comes to shooting threes, with a 0.324 percentage, only in front of Louisiana Tech.
They also have a 0.682 free-throw percentage, which is also second-worst in CUSA, only in front of Louisiana Tech. They also only average 23.2 defensive rebounds, which is, yet again, second-worst in the conference. In reality, the Bears only have one noteworthy statistic that is at least fourth-best in CUSA or better, which is their 33.7 average for opponent rebounds.
Season Series
The first game between these two programs took place in Springfield, where FIU fell to Missouri State by a final score of 79-71. The Panthers got the best of the Bears in a 70-67 nailbiter in Miami back on February 21st.
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