MIAMI – It's been a successful first season for Florida International head coach Jeremy Ballard and the Panthers.
The Panthers finished the regular season with a winning record for the first time since the 2012-13 season and have a winning record in Conference USA play for the first time since joining the league in 2013.
They'll be vying for their first 20-win season in school history in the upcoming C-USA tournament.
FIU (19-12, 10-8 C-USA), which has won five of its last six games, earned a No. 7 seed and will face No. 10 seed North Texas (20-10, 8-9) in a first-round game Wednesday night. The winner will face No. 2 seed Western Kentucky (18-13, 11-7).
The Panthers have beaten North Texas twice in the last month -- a 69-59 win in Miami on Feb. 16 and 73-58 Saturday in the regular-season finale. The Mean Green enter the tournament on a seven-game losing streak.
FIU hasn't made the NCAA tournament since 1995.