# 2024–25 FIU Panthers men's basketball team

The 2024–25 FIU Panthers men's basketball team represented Florida International University in the 2024–25 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Panthers, led by seventh-year head coach Jeremy Ballard, played their home games at Ocean Bank Convocation Center in Miami, Florida as members of Conference USA.

## Previous season

The Panthers finished the 2023–24 season 11–22, 5–11 in C-USA play to finish in last place. As a No. 9 seed, they defeat Jacksonville State in the first round of the C-USA tournament before losing to Sam Houston.

## Offseason
### Departures

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Arturo Dean | 2 | G | 5'11" | 163 | Sophomore | Miami, FL | Transferred to Oklahoma State |
| Javaunte Hawkins | 3 | G | 5'11" | 160 | Senior | Lee's Summit, MO | Graduated |
| Seth Pinkney | 4 | C | 7'1" | 200 | Senior | Warminster, PA | Graduated |
| Petar Krivokapic | 23 | G | 6'4" | 214 | Junior | Budva, Montenegro | Transferred to Pacific |
| Mohamed Sanogo | 33 | F | 6'9" | 200 | Junior | Pittsfield, MA | Signed to play professionally in Spain with Córdoba CB |

### Incoming transfers

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Asim Jones | 2 | G | 6'2" | Junior | Paterson, NJ | College of Southern Idaho |
| Vianney Salatchoum | 23 | C | 6'10" | Junior | Yaoundé, Cameroon | Panola College |
| Olajuwon Ibrahim | 34 | C | 6'9" | Junior | Lagos, Nigeria | Southeastern CC |

### 2024 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Ashton Williamson #34 PG | Gary, IN | Calumet High School | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | May 23, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 ||||||
| Kole Williams SF | Dallas, TX | Carter High School | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | 195 lb (88 kg) | May 24, 2024 |
| Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 21, 2024. ||||||

## 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 5, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Rice | L 70–77 | 0–1 | 18 – Tied | 9 – Brewer | 4 – Brewer | Tudor Fieldhouse (1,111) Houston, TX |
| November 9, 2024* 8:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Southern Utah C-USA/WAC Alliance | L 75–80 | 0–2 | 22 – Brewer | 7 – Brewer | 5 – Williamson | America First Event Center (2,856) Cedar City, UT |
| November 14, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Florida National | W 110–55 | 1–2 | 18 – Okeke | 10 – Okeke | 6 – Brewer | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (947) Miami, FL |
| November 18, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Howard | L 70–75 | 1–3 | 15 – Brewer | 6 – Williamson | 8 – Williamson | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (764) Miami, FL |
| November 22, 2024* 1:00 p.m. | | vs. Northeastern Homewood Suites Classic | L 58–60 | 1–4 | 14 – Salatchoum | 7 – Aybar | 3 – Jones | Alico Arena (57) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 23, 2024* 11:00 a.m. | | vs. Cal State Bakersfield Homewood Suites Classic | W 76–73 $^{OT}$ | 2–4 | 16 – Gittens | 5 – Wilcox | 3 – Tied | Alico Arena (742) Fort Myers, FL |
| November 24, 2024* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Florida Gulf Coast Homewood Suites Classic | L 59–60 | 2–5 | 18 – Brewer | 8 – Tied | 2 – Tied | Alico Arena (1,601) Fort Myers, FL |
| December 4, 2024* 6:30 p.m., CBSSN | | Florida Atlantic | L 77–88 | 2–6 | 20 – Salatchoum | 13 – Brewer | 4 – Brewer | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,304) Miami, FL |
| December 6, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | New College of Florida | W 70–63 | 3–6 | 19 – Salatchoum | 7 – Tied | 4 – Brewer | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (567) Miami, FL |
| December 14, 2024* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Stetson | W 81–72 | 4–6 | 20 – Brewer | 11 – Aybar | 4 – Tied | Edmunds Center (508) DeLand, FL |
| December 17, 2024* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at East Carolina | L 64–75 | 4–7 | 20 – Brewer | 7 – Aybar | 4 – Tied | Williams Arena (3,359) Greenville, NC |
| December 21, 2024* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | IU Indy | W 75–69 | 5–7 | 15 – Tied | 5 – Tied | 4 – Tied | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (595) Miami, FL |
| December 30, 2024* 12:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Utah Tech C-USA/WAC Alliance | W 80–66 | 6–7 | 15 – Gray | 5 – Tied | 7 – Jones | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (613) Miami, FL |
| Conference USA regular season |||||||||
| January 2, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Middle Tennessee | L 69–73 | 6–8 (0–1) | 21 – Salatchoum | 6 – Aybar | 5 – Jones | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (560) Miami, FL |
| January 4, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Western Kentucky | W 85–66 | 7–8 (1–1) | 17 – Jones | 7 – Tied | 4 – Williamson | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (580) Miami, FL |
| January 9, 2025 7:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Louisiana Tech | L 64–81 | 7–9 (1–2) | 15 – Tied | 4 – Gray | 5 – Williamson | Thomas Assembly Center (1,635) Ruston, LA |
| January 11, 2025 3:30 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Sam Houston | L 74–81 | 7–10 (1–3) | 20 – Brewer | 11 – Aybar | 4 – Aybar | Bernard Johnson Coliseum (976) Huntsville, TX |
| January 16, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | New Mexico State | L 52–59 | 7–11 (1–4) | 13 – Tied | 11 – Salatchoum | 2 – Tied | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,535) Miami, FL |
| January 18, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | UTEP | L 73–81 | 7–12 (1–5) | 17 – Aybar | 6 – Tied | 5 – Williamson | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (649) Miami, FL |
| January 25, 2025 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Liberty | L 59–82 | 7–13 (1–6) | 17 – Brewer | 8 – Tied | 2 – Gittens | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,176) Miami, FL |
| January 30, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Jacksonville State | L 67–71 | 7–14 (1–7) | 15 – Brewer | 8 – Salatchoum | 4 – Jones | Pete Mathews Coliseum (2,877) Jacksonville, AL |
| February 1, 2025 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Kennesaw State | L 67–73 | 7–15 (1–8) | 22 – Brewer | 7 – Brewer | 5 – Williamson | Convocation Center (2,155) Kennesaw, GA |
| February 6, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Sam Houston | W 85–82 $^{OT}$ | 8–15 (2–8) | 25 – Brewer | 9 – Aybar | 3 – Tied | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (1,002) Miami, FL |
| February 8, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Louisiana Tech | L 71–82 | 8–16 (2–9) | 15 – Brewer | 7 – Gittens | 3 – Tied | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (745) Miami, FL |
| February 13, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at UTEP | L 63–77 | 8–17 (2–10) | 12 – Tied | 10 – Aybar | 4 – Williamson | Don Haskins Center (4,089) El Paso, TX |
| February 15, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at New Mexico State | L 48–76 | 8–18 (2–11) | 13 – Brewer | 6 – Tied | 2 – Aybar | Pan American Center (13,274) Las Cruces, NM |
| February 22, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Liberty | L 45–58 | 8–19 (2–12) | 10 – Tied | 10 – Brewer | 2 – Tied | Liberty Arena (4,000) Lynchburg, VA |
| February 27, 2025 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Kennesaw State | W 76–61 | 9–19 (3–12) | 15 – Tied | 6 – Salatchoum | 3 – Wilcox | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (668) Miami, FL |
| March 1, 2025 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | Jacksonville State | L 79–84 $^{2OT}$ | 9–20 (3–13) | 19 – Aybar | 8 – Gittens | 4 – Williamson | Ocean Bank Convocation Center (612) Miami, FL |
| March 6, 2025 8:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Western Kentucky | L 67–76 | 9–21 (3–14) | 21 – Salatchoum | 7 – Brewer | 4 – Tied | E. A. Diddle Arena (3,645) Bowling Green, KY |
| March 8, 2025 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Middle Tennessee | L 56–78 | 9–22 (3–15) | 15 – Brewer | 7 – Brewer | 2 – Williamson | Murphy Center (4,018) Murfreesboro, TN |
| Conference USA tournament |||||||||
| March 11, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (7) Western Kentucky First round | W 64–61 | 10–22 | 17 – Tied | 10 – Salatchoum | 4 – Williamson | Von Braun Center (1,244) Huntsville, AL |
| March 12, 2025 9:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (10) | vs. (2) Jacksonville State Quarterfinals | L 56–65 | 10–23 | 18 – Brewer | 6 – Aybar | 4 – Williamson | Von Braun Center (2,562) Huntsville, AL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. |||||||||
Source