PANTHERS HEAD NORTH TO FACE NORTH TEXAS
With non-conference play set to wind down, the Prairie View A&M Panthers prepare for the first of their final two non-conference games starting at North Texas on Tuesday night in Denton, Texas at The Super Pit.  The Panthers have struggled to open the 2014-15 campaign as they're 1-10 but they've played a very tough schedule which consisted of trips to places such as Baylor, Memphis, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.  Despite their early setbacks, the Panthers have been very competitive but have struggled down the stretch as the past several games have come down to second half breakdowns.

HONOR A FALLEN PANTHER
Head coach Byron Rimm II and the Prairie View A&M family lost a former Panther recently in former student-athlete Mayol Riathin.  Riathin, who played for the Panthers from 2011-2013, died recently in a car accident which took place in the state of Wyoming.  Riathin wore No. 33 during his tenure at PVAMU and the number will not be worn this season as it was originally assigned to Nolan Wilson.

ALL-TIME SERIES
Despite both teams residing in the state of Texas and less than five hours from each other, this marks the first time both Prairie View A&M and North Texas will play each other.

ABOUT THE PANTHERS
Prairie View A&M returns four starters from last year's team which advanced to the finals of the SWAC Basketball Tournament for the second consecutive season.  The Panthers also return a total of six letterwinners but lose a total of seven lettermen.  Senior guard Montrael Scott received first team preseason honors as the Prairie View A&M men's basketball team was picked to finish sixth in the annual SWAC Men's Basketball Preseason poll.  Scott, who returned to the lineup three weeks ago after missing four games due to an illness, ranks second on the team in scoring with 12.1 points per game.  Senior guard John Brisco has been on a tear lately as he leads the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game while fellow senior guard Tre Hagood has upped his scoring output to 10.1 points per game and a team-high 5.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists.  Junior post Karim York is the team's second-leading rebounder with five per game along with chipping in 9.1 points.

THE LAST TIME
Despite both teams residing in the state of Texas and less than five hours from each other, this marks the first time Prairie View A&M and North Texas will face each other on the hardwood.

RIMM vs. C-USA
Tuesday's contest at North Texas marks the second of two match-ups versus Conference USA this season.  Against the current teams of C-USA, head coach Byron Rimm II has an all-time record of 0-3 with games played at Rice and UAB.  Before the previous conference realignments, Rimm had a 1-6 mark against the league but two teams he has played from the conference have left for another league.  The Panthers also played at Rice this season.

NORTH TEXAS vs. THE SWAC
Prairie View A&M is the second opponent from the SWAC North Texas will place this season as they played Mississippi Valley State on Nov. 26.
All-time, UNT is 20-11 against the league with Alcorn State (5), Jackson State (1), Southern (1) and Texas Southern (4) earning wins.

SWAC TIES
UNT assistant coach Scott Monarch is a familiar face to the PVAMU coaching staff for several reasons.
Monarch played collegiately at SWAC foes Mississippi Valley State during the mid-1980s and also spent time as an assistant at Grambling State (1998-99).      
He also spent six seasons as the head coach at Panola College in Carthage, Texas as the PVAMU basketball program recruited several players under his tenure.

HOMECOMING
Prairie View A&M has four players from the Dallas Metroplex that will have the chance to play in front of friends and family on Friday.
Jayrn Johnson, Avery Lomax, Jordan Giddings and Montrael Scott represents the area as Johnson, Giddings and Scott hail from Dallas while Lomax is from Desoto.

ROAD WARRIORS
In non-conference play, the Panthers have lived out their suitcases this fall as 12 of their 13 contests are away from campus.  Prairie View A&M will travel to a total of four states (Hawai'i', Nevada, Oklahoma, Tennessee) and play in three different time zones (Central, Hawaii-Aleutian, Pacific). 
The team's lone non-conference home game took place on Dec. 3 versus Schreiner.

DEFEND THE 3
The Panthers rank first in the SWAC in three-point field defense as their holding teams to a 29.6 shooting percentage.