| Elon Phoenix (12-8, 4-3 CAA) vs. William & Mary (12-6, 5-2 CAA) |
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ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball looks to bounce back from Thursday's setback on Saturday, Jan. 20, wrapping up its fourth week of conference play hosting one of the CAA's league-leaders in William & Mary inside Alumni Gym at 7 p.m.
COVERAGE
Watch the Phoenix in action against the Tribe on Phoenix All-Access. You can listen to the Elon IMG Sports Network broadcast of the game on WSJS 104.5 FM and 1200 AM as
Taylor Durham and Brian Morris will call the action with the pregame show starting at 6:30 p.m.
BAG POLICY AT ALUMNI GYM
Elon University has implemented a policy for bags entering Alumni Gym. All bags entering the arena will be checked before fans reach the ticket booths at the facility. Multiple lines will be available and there will be specific lines for fans entering with no bags.
The following items will be prohibited from Alumni Gym:
• Weapons
• Explosives
* Alcoholic beverages
• Outside food and beverages
• Smoking and tobacco products
• E-cigarettes
• Containers or coolers
• Flags on poles
• Hoverboards
• Pets (except service animals)
BASKETBALL GAME DAY
For more information on ticketing, parking and directions to Alumni Gym, please visit the
Basketball Game Day web page.
THE SERIES
• Saturday is the 14th all-time meeting between Elon and William & Mary. The Tribe leads the all-time series 11-2 and have the 5-2 advantage during Elon's Division I era.
• Last season, both teams met three times. Most recently, Elon faced William & Mary for the second time in first three years as a member of the CAA in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
• During the regular season, both teams split the matchup with the home team winning each contest. Elon defeated William & Mary on Jan. 21, 2017, 71-62, inside Alumni Gym. The Tribe won the first matchup in Williamsburg, escaping with an 88-85 victory on Jan. 5, 2017. Prior to last season's win on Jan. 21, Elon's last win against the Tribe was during the maroon and gold's inaugural season in the CAA. Elon toppled the Tribe 85-79 on Jan. 8, 2015 in Alumni Gym.
FINAL SEASON OF ALUMNI GYM
• The 2017-18 season marks the 67th and final year of competition inside historic Alumni Gym as the program is set to relocate to the Schar Center for the 2018-19 campaign. The arena opened its doors in 1950.
HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
• Elon has a 6-1 record overall record at home in its final season inside Alumni Gym.
• Since the 2011-12 season, Elon has a 65-29 record (31-8 vs. non-conference teams) inside Alumni Gym. Elon has sold out Alumni Gym 20 times under head coach
Matt Matheny, with its most recent sellout coming on Jan. 11, 2018. Matheny is 13-7 all-time in front of sellout crowds in Alumni Gym.
A LOOK AT ELON
• The Phoenix has a 12-8 record overall and owns a 4-3 mark in CAA action after falling to James Madison 85-74 in overtime on Thursday. Elon is in a 4-way tie for second in the league standings, one game behind William & Mary, Hofstra, and Northeastern.
•
Tyler Seibring has been solid in his first five conference games, averaging 18.1 points and 8.0 rebounds. He is also shooting 56.3% from the floor and 47.8% from three.
• Meanwhile, Thompson is also having a good start to conference play, averaging 13.3 points and 5.1 rebounds, and shooting 22-24 from the free throw line.
• Seibring and Thompson each scored their 1,000th career point on Jan. 7 in a win at Hofstra.
• Elon is scoring 74.1 ppg and allowing 73.1 ppg thus far through 20 games. The team has only been held to under 70 points 6 times and under 60 points just twice this season.
• Offensively, Elon ranks 2nd in the CAA averaging 10.9 made three-pointers. Elon also is 2nd in the league averaging with 15.8 assists per contest.
• The Phoenix continues to improve defensively, allowing teams to shoot 41.7% from the floor which ranks 2nd overall in the CAA. Elon's 41.6% field goal percentage defense in CAA games ranks 1st in the league. Elon is also 1st in the league in defensive rebounds, averaging 29.1 per game.
•
Tyler Seibring is currently Elon's leading scorer at 14.1 ppg, Seibring is also 11th in the league averaging a team-best 6.6 rpg, while
Dainan Swoope is 5th in the CAA with 3.8 apg.
• Eberhardt has the 4th-best assist/turnover ratio in the CAA with a 2.2 ratio with 62 assists to 28 turnovers.
• Elon is 2nd in NCAA Division I in fouls committed per game. The Phoenix averages just 13.6 personal fouls per game.
• Elon completed its non-conference schedule with eight or more wins for the 4th straight year.
• The Phoenix returned all five starters and its top five scorers from a team that finished 18-14 overall and placed tied for fourth in the CAA with a 10-8 mark in 2016-17.
• Four of the five starters averaged double-figure scoring last season, led by 2016-17 All-CAA Second Team forward
Tyler Seibring, who averaged a team-high 14.4 ppg.
• Dawkins, Thompson,
Jack Anton,
Jack George and
Collin Luther make up this year's senior class.
• Elon also made three additions this past offseason, bringing in freshman guard Nathan Priddy and forwards
Simon Wright and
Duje Radja into the fold.
JOINING THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
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Dmitri Thompson and
Tyler Seibring each joined the 1,000-point club on Sunday, Jan. 7, at Hofstra.
• Seibring was the first to join, becoming the 40th player overall and the 11th junior to reach the mark.
• Thompson followed becoming the 41st player in 109 seasons of Elon basketball to reach 1,000 career points.
•
Dainan Swoope is the next in line to reach the mark. He has 930 career points, just 70 away.
Brian Dawkins follows with 845 career points and needs 155 to join the club.
IT'S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
• All five of Elon's starters are averaging doubles figures through 19 games this season. Seibring leads the way with 14.1 ppg, while Swoope is second averaging 13.3 ppg.
• Rounding out the top scorers are
Brian Dawkins (11.8 ppg),
Dmitri Thompson (11.5 ppg), and
Steven Santa Ana (10.4 ppg).
• Elon has had 7 different players finish in double figures this season and 6 have led their team in scoring during games.
• The Phoenix has had at least three players finish in double-figures in 14 games this season. The only 4 times this season Elon had less in a game was two against Radford (11/22), at UNCG (12/7) and at Northeastern (1/5) and one at Canisius (12/17).
COMING UP BIG IN LEAGUE PLAY
• The Phoenix as a team continues to be one of the best defensive teams in the league, holding teams to 41.4% shooting from the field in CAA games, ranks 1st in the league.
• After averaging 11.9 points and 5.8 rebounds during non-conference play,
Tyler Seibring has increased his averages to 18.1 points and 8.0 rebounds in league games.
SWOOPE THERE IT IS
•
Dainan Swoope has shown improvement on the scoring end his junior campaign, averaging 13.3 ppg this season in comparison to his 11.7 ppg last season. Swoope has scored in double figures 14 times thus far and is currently 19th in the CAA in scoring.
• The junior point guard makes 81.9% of his shots from the free throw line, which is 10th in the CAA.
• Swoope is also 5th in the CAA in assists averaging 3.8 dimes per game this season.
• The junior finished the non-conference portion of the schedule averaging 14.7 ppg and shot 85.1% from the free throw line.
• Before suffering an ankle injury in the second half at UNCG, Swoope was averaging 17.1 ppg in the first nine contests.
• He had 20+ points in four straight games from Nov. 17-22 and averaged 23.8 ppg during that span.
PROVIDING A SPARK
•
Sheldon Eberhardt has made an impact off the bench, scoring in double-figures three times this season for the Phoenix.
• He posted a career-high 10 assists in Elon's victory over Saint Peter's, which was the first time an Elon player had 10 or more assists in a game since
Chris Long had 10 on Feb. 19, 2011 against UNCG.
• Eberhardt is currently averaging 5.9 points and 3.1 assists per contest. He also has one of the highest shooting percentages on the team at 50.5%.
LET IT FLY
• The Phoenix is 2nd in the CAA and 13th in the NCAA with 10.9 three-pointers made per game.
• Elon's 218 total three-pointers this season ranks 1st in the CAA and 10th in the NCAA.
• The maroon and gold also ranks first in the league with 614 three-point attempts, which ranks 9th nationally.
377 AND COUNTING
• The Elon program has made at least one three-point field goal in 377 consecutive games (not including exhibition games). The matchup on Feb. 4, 2017 at College of Charleston marked the 350th consective game.
• The last time Elon did not make a three in a game was Jan. 30, 2006, at Georgia Southern when the team went 0-of-14
from deep.
SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
• William & Mary enters Saturday's game on a two-game losing streak after falling 90-70 against Northeastern on Thursday night. The Tribe is tied for first in the league with Hofstra and Northeastern with a 5-2 mark in CAA action. W&M is 12-6 overall.
• The Tribe is the best shooting team in the country, ranking among the top 10 at all three levels. W&M leads the country in free throw shooting (82.0), while ranking second in 3-point (44.0) percentage and ninth in field goal percentage (50.8). W&M is the only team in the country to rank among the top 10 in all three shooting categories. No team in NCAA history has shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line in the same season.
• W&M is averaging 85.4 points per game, which leads the CAA and ranks 16th nationally. The scoring average would be the highest in the CAA since 1996 (Mason at 90.6). The Tribe owns a school-record four 100-point games in 2017-18, including a school-record 126 vs. Milligan. W&M scored the most points on the road in program history with 108 at Savannah State.
• On four occasions this season, the Tribe has rallied from a double-digit deficit to pull out a win. W&M trailed by as much as 16 at Mason, 14 at JMU, 10 at Drexel and 20 at home vs. JMU.
• Senior David Cohn ranks fourth among active Division I players with a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.61. His 2.66 assist-to-turnover ratio in three seasons at W&M is a program record.
• Sophomore Nathan Knight was named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch list, which annually recognizes the nation's top Division I mid-major player. He ranks second in the CAA and 42nd nationally at 19.7 points per game to go along with 8.1 rebounds. Knight, who is a two-time CAA Player of the Week, ranks 47th nationally with seven double-doubles, including three of the 30-point, 10-rebound variety and four in CAA play.
UP NEXT
The Phoenix hits the road for both contests in week five of CAA action, beginning with Drexel on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m.
-- ELON --
