FIU basketball got a lot more interesting April 15 when new coach Isiah Thomas was hired.

On Monday night, the Golden Panthers will open their 2009-10 season against defending national champion North Carolina (7 p.m. ESPNU) at the Dean Dome.

``What a place to get ready to play the season,'' said FIU forward Marlon Bright of playing at No. 6 UNC. ``Everybody is really excited and ready to go. We've been paying close attention to Coach Thomas because we don't even know if a margin of error exists for us.''

FIU -- coming off a 13-20 season and with 20 or more losses in seven of the past nine seasons -- heads into Chapel Hill as 31-point underdogs.

Thomas, whose last college game at Indiana was a national championship victory against North Carolina, knows the challenge ahead.

``God help us all,'' joked Thomas, when asked what his pre-game speech might be.

However, the first-year FIU coach is keeping in mind the big picture.

``We're starting from the bottom,'' Thomas said. ``We want to go to the top and the journey, the ride along the way, is the most important thing . . . The journey, to me, that's the most enjoyable part.''

More than half of the Panthers roster is comprised of new players. FIU has seven newcomers on its 13-man roster and no player is taller than 6-9.

One of those new Panthers is 6-5 forward Marvin Roberts, who was the nation's leading junior college scorer last season at Redlands (Okla.) Community College.

Roberts is eager to get the season started Monday.

``We've been waiting for this game for a while,'' said Roberts of the season opener. ``We've got to stay focused and execute because we are the underdogs and we're much smaller.''

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