The Tarleton Texans and the FIU Panthers meet in college basketball action from Ocean Bank Convocation Center on Thursday night.
Tarleton Suffocated By Virginia
The Tarleton Texans didn’t have the best start to their season, being picked apart by Virginia by a final score of 80-50. Devon Barnes led the way with 11 points including a 6 of 6 mark from the foul line while Izzy Miles added 10 points on 4 of 8 shooting with 5 rebounds as the only other double-digit scorer for Tarleton in the losing effort. Bubu Benjamin added 8 points with a team-high 3 assists while Jakorie Smith added 7 points with a team-high 5 rebounds and 3 steals. As a team, Tarleton shot 33.3% from the field, 23.1% from three-point range and 71.4% from the foul line.
FIU Beat Up By UCF
The FIU Panthers come into this game looking to rebound from an 85-62 loss to the UCF Knights in their last game. Dashon Gittens led the way with 11 points while Petar Krivokapic added 10 points on 4 of 6 shooting with 5 rebounds as the only other double-digit scorer for FIU in the loss. Javauntae Hawkins added 9 points with 3 threes, but also committed 7 turnovers in 15 minutes while Jayden Brewer added 9 points of his own with a team-high 6 rebounds. Arturo Dean added a team-high 4 assists as well in the losing effort. As a team, FIU shot 36.2% from the field, 22.2% from three and 75% from the foul line.
Chris’ Pick
I’ve gone back and forth on this game, but I’m going to stick with FIU here. I just think they’re the better option side-by-side, and these offensive issues for Tarleton are something we saw with this team last season. FIU’s offense is much improved from the team we saw for much of last year, and I think they do enough to pull away and get the win and cover when all is said and done here.