MIAMI - The IU Indianapolis men's basketball team will take on Florida International on Saturday (Dec. 21) at 6:00 p.m. inside Ocean Bank Convocation Center on ESPN+. The Jaguars come in looking to snap a three-game skid after dropping a non-conference tilt at Lindenwood a week prior. 

The Jaguars remain among the nation's best three-point shooting teams, having made 10.5 per game to rank No. 23 in the country, doing so at a 37 percent clip. The Jags have made double-digit threes in five of the past six games, including tying the school record with 19 makes against Trinity Christian on Nov. 30. 

Graduate Paul Zilinskas has made a team-high 42 while Jarvis Walker has 23 and Alec Millender has hit 22. Zilinskas continues to lead the team in scoring at 18.8 points per game and is shooting 46.2 percent from three. Walker is tallying 16.1 points per game and junior Sean Craig owns four double-doubles while averaging 9.8 points and a team-high 8.6 rebounds per game. Millender has taken over the point guard role and is averaging 7.7 points and 3.5 assists per game with a 2.56 assist-to-turnover ratio. 

The frontcourt has primarily been manned by true freshmen DeSean Goode (5.9 ppg, 4.8 rpg) and Keenan Garner (4.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg) to start the season, but received reinforcements recently as graduate Julian Steinfeld returned from injury. Steinfeld is coming off an eight-rebound performance at Lindenwood a week ago. 

In addition to their three-point prowess, the Jaguars also rank No. 28 in the country in free throw shooting at 77.7 percent. Zilinskas (89.8%), Walker (82.1%) and Goode (80.8%) are all hitting better than 80 percent on the season.

Saturday's game marks the Jaguars first game in the Sunshine State since winning at South Florida on Nov. 13, 2019.  

SCOUTING FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL
FIU is 4-7 on the season and 2-2 on their home floor. The Panthers are outscoring opponents by nearly three points per game and outrebounding foes by a board per game. Jayden Brewer leads FIU in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (5.9 rpg) while Jonathan Aybar checks in at 10.4 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game. Four other regulars are averaging better than seven points per game, including Vianney Salatchoum, who also has a team-high 22 blocked shots and is shooting better than 60 percent from the floor. 

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday's meeting marks the first-ever matchup between the two teams.  

UP NEXT
The Jaguars will return to Horizon League play on Sunday, Dec. 29 when they take on league leader Milwaukee at 2:00 p.m. CST in Milwaukee.