2025–26 FIU Panthers men's basketball team
| 2025–26 FIU Panthers men's basketball | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Conference USA |
| Record | 5–4 (0–0 C-USA) |
| Head coach |
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| Associate head coach | Jesse Bopp |
| Assistant coaches |
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| Home arena | Ocean Bank Convocation Center |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | PCT | W | L | PCT | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Middle Tennessee | 1 | – | 0 | 1.000 | 6 | – | 4 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Liberty | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 3 | .700 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sam Houston | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 3 | .700 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Kentucky | 0 | – | 0 | – | 7 | – | 4 | .636 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| New Mexico State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 3 | .667 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana Tech | 0 | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 4 | .600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIU | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | 4 | .556 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | 5 | .500 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jacksonville State | 0 | – | 0 | – | 4 | – | 6 | .400 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Delaware | 0 | – | 0 | – | 4 | – | 7 | .364 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTEP | 0 | – | 0 | – | 3 | – | 6 | .333 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kennesaw State | 0 | – | 1 | .000 | 8 | – | 3 | .727 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| † 2026 CUSA tournament winner As of December 19, 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2025–26 FIU Panthers men's basketball team represents Florida International University during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by eighth-year head coach Jeremy Ballard, play their home games at Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Florida as members of Conference USA.
Previous season
The Panthers finished the 2024–25 season 10–23, 3–15 in C-USA play, to finish in tenth (last) place.[1] They upset Western Kentucky,[2] before falling to Jacksonville State in the quarterfinals of the C-USA tournament.[3]
Preseason
On October 9, 2025, Conference USA released their preseason poll. FIU was picked to finish tenth in the conference.[4]
Preseason rankings
| Place | Team | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Liberty | 143 (11) | |
| 2 | Kennesaw State | 126 (1) | |
| 3 | New Mexico State | 113 | |
| 4 | Middle Tennessee | 103 | |
| 5 | Louisiana Tech | 82 | |
| 6 | Western Kentucky | 79 | |
| 7 | Jacksonville State | 67 | |
| 8 | UTEP | 66 | |
| 9 | Sam Houston | 56 | |
| 10 | FIU | 36 | |
| 11 | Delaware | 35 | |
| 12 | Missouri State | 30 | |
| (#) first-place votes | |||
Source:[4]
Preseason All-Conference USA Team
No players were named to the Preseason All-Conference USA Team.[4]
Roster
| 2025–26 FIU Panthers men's basketball team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Roster | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schedule and results
| Date time, TV |
Rank# | Opponent# | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Non-conference regular season | |||||||||||
| November 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Florida National | W 101–49 | 1–0 |
25 – Olayinka | 12 – Olayinka | 8 – Sucatzky | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,605) Miami, FL | ||||
| November 8, 2025* 1:00 pm, B1G+ |
at Nebraska | L 66–96 | 1–1 |
12 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 4 – Jackson | Pinnacle Bank Arena (14,023) Lincoln, NE | ||||
| November 13, 2025* 8:00 pm, SECN+ |
at LSU | L 81–98 | 1–2 |
25 – Stephenson | 10 – Stephenson | 6 – Stephenson | Pete Maravich Assembly Center (6,306) Baton Rouge, LA | ||||
| November 18, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Fort Lauderdale | W 104−80 | 2−2 |
19 – Williamson | 11 – Stephenson | 9 – Mackey | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (723) Miami, FL | ||||
| November 24, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
James Madison FIU MTE |
L 72−80 | 2−3 |
25 – Stephenson | 8 – Tied | 5 – Jackson | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (604) Miami, FL | ||||
| November 26, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Omaha FIU MTE |
W 74–61 | 3–3 |
24 – Harris | 9 – Stephenson | 4 – Tied | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (328) Miami, FL | ||||
| December 3, 2025* 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Florida Gulf Coast | W 89–83 | 4–3 |
20 – Jackson | 8 – Stephenson | 4 – Mackey | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (633) Miami, FL | ||||
| December 6, 2025* 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Jacksonville | W 88–65 | 5–3 |
14 – Tied | 6 – Tied | 6 – Jackson | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (338) Miami, FL | ||||
| December 16, 2025* 7:00 pm, ACCNX |
at Miami (FL) | L 81–98 | 5–4 |
23 – Stephenson | 5 – Tied | 6 – Stephenson | Watsco Center (4,930) Coral Gables, FL | ||||
| December 20, 2025* 5:00 pm, ESPN+ |
LIU | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| December 22, 2025* 12:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Trinity (Jacksonville) | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| Conference USA regular season | |||||||||||
| December 28, 2025 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Liberty | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| January 2, 2026 12:00 pm, ESPN+ |
New Mexico State | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| January 4, 2026 4:00 pm, ESPN+ |
UTEP | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| January 7, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Jacksonville State | Pete Mathews Coliseum Jacksonville, AL | |||||||||
| January 10, 2026 5:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Missouri State | Great Southern Bank Arena Springfield, MO | |||||||||
| January 14, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Kennesaw State | VyStar Arena Kennesaw, GA | |||||||||
| January 17, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Sam Houston | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| January 22, 2026 9:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at UTEP | Don Haskins Center El Paso, TX | |||||||||
| January 24, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at New Mexico State | Pan American Center Las Cruces, NM | |||||||||
| January 28, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Jacksonville State | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| February 4, 2026 7:30 pm, ESPN+ |
at Middle Tennessee | Murphy Center Murfreesboro, TN | |||||||||
| February 7, 2026 3:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Western Kentucky | E. A. Diddle Arena Bowling Green, KY | |||||||||
| February 12, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Delaware | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| February 14, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Louisiana Tech | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| February 19, 2026 6:00 pm, CBSSN |
at Liberty | Liberty Arena Lynchburg, VA | |||||||||
| February 21, 2026 3:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Missouri State | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| February 26, 2026 9:00 pm, CBSSN |
at Sam Houston | Bernard Johnson Coliseum Huntsville, TX | |||||||||
| February 28, 2026 3:00 pm, ESPN+ |
at Louisiana Tech | Thomas Assembly Center Ruston, LA | |||||||||
| March 5, 2026 7:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Middle Tennessee | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| March 7, 2026 2:00 pm, ESPN+ |
Western Kentucky | Ocean Bank Convocation Center Miami, FL | |||||||||
| Conference USA tournament | |||||||||||
| March 11–14, 2026 |
vs. | Propst Arena Huntsville, AL | |||||||||
References
- ^ "2024-25 Men's Basketball Standings". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ "FIU upsets Western Kentucky; to face Jacksonville State in CUSA quarterfinals". 256 Today. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ "Jacksonville State's men down FIU to advance to Conference USA tournament semifinals". al.com. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ a b c "2025-26 CUSA Preseason All-Conference Team and Poll Announced". Conference USA. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ "2025-26 Men's Basketball Schedule". FIU Athletics. Retrieved December 6, 2025.
- ^ "Florida International Panthers 2025-26 Regular Season NCAAM Schedule". ESPN. Retrieved December 6, 2025.