ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball returns to action on Thursday, Jan. 27, when it hosts William & Mary at Schar Center. Tipoff in the contest is scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
COVERAGE
- Listen to the Elon Sports Network from Learfield's coverage on The Varsity Network app.
- Longtime voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham, will be on the call with coverage beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET with the Carter and Smith Group Countdown to tipoff.
- Elon's game against William & Mary will be streamed live on FloSports.
- Live Stats are available and can be found by visiting https://elonstats.com.
 
THE MATCHUP
- Thursday night marks the 23^rd meeting between Elon and William & Mary.
- The Phoenix currently trails in the all-time series, 16-6.
- In the most recent meeting between the two programs, Elon defeated William & Mary, 73-54 on Monday, Feb. 22.
- Darius Burford finished with 13 points, six rebounds and four steals in 31 minutes of action, while Chuck Hannah chipped in a season-high 10 points and five rebounds. Hunter McIntosh and Hunter Woods also each added eight points in the win.

SCOUTING ELON
- Former CAA All-Rookie honoree Darius Burford is currently leading the team in scoring (12.5 ppg), assists (3.1 apg) and steals (1.65 spg), while being third on the team in rebounding (4.3 rpg). Burford has scored in double figures 12 times this season and has nabbed at least two steals in nine games this year. His 15.0 ppg scoring averaging in conference play also ranks top-10 in the CAA.
- Junior guard and Preseason All-CAA First Team honoree Hunter McIntosh, ranks second the team in scoring at 11.6 points per game, adding 3.1 assists per contest as well. McIntosh has scored in double figures in 45 career games, including 11 times this season. He currently ranks in the top-15 in the conference in scoring at 13.1 ppg through five CAA contests this year.
- Sophomore center Michael Graham ranks third on the team in scoring (9.2 ppg), while leading the team in rebounding at 6.8 rpg. Graham has scored at least 10 points in eight straight games and has registered four double doubles this season (two in last two games). Against Drexel, Graham set a new Elon Division I program record for rebounds in a game with 17. His 12.71 ppg scoring output in conference play ranks in the top-20 while his 8.0 rebounding average ranks fourth.
- Torrence Watson is fourth on the team in scoring 8.9 points per game, adding 2.8 rebounds per contest as well. Watson has gotten to the charity stripe a team-high 61 times this season, knocking down 52 of his attempts for an 85.2 free throw percentage.
- Junior forward Zac Ervin is fifth on the team in scoring, averaging 7.8 points per game, adding 3.3 rebounds per contest. Ervin has knocked down 34 threes while shooting at a 35.4 percent clip from long distance so far this season.
- Junior forward Hunter Woods is chipping in 7.3 points and 4.8 rebounds in 25.3 minutes through 19 games this season. Woods is also currently second on the team in steals this season with 23 total.
- Senior forward Chuck Hannah is averaging 5.3 points and 2.9 rebounds in 22.4 minutes per game since returning from injury against High Point.
- Freshman center Sam Sherry has gotten his Elon career off to a solid start, averaging 2.2 points in just under eight minutes of action per game.
- Center Andrew Junkin made his return from injury against JMU, finishing the night with season-highs in points (6) and rebounds (3).
- Elon currently ranks in the top-2 in the CAA in total threes made (190 – 1st), threes made per game (9.5 – 1st) and total assists (269 – 2nd).
- Elon set a program record for points at Schar Center (107), threes made (20) and assists (27) in its home opener against Randolph.
- Seniors Chuck Hannah and Kris Wooten will serve as the team captains for the 2021-22 season.
- This season marks the third for Head Coach Mike Schrage at the helm of the Elon program.
 
SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
- William & Mary enters the contest with an 4-16 overall record and 3-4 record in CAA play after falling to Charleston, 74-73, in its most recent contest. Brandon Carroll led the Tribe in the contest, dropping 16 points, nine rebounds, six steals and five blocks. Yuri Convington added 13 points and eight rebounds, while Ben Wight chipped in 13 points and six boards. Connor Kochera and Julian Lewis also each scored 11 points in the loss.
- Dane Fischer is in the midst of his third season at the helm of the William & Mary program. Prior to taking over at William & Mary, Fischer spent four seasons as an assistant coach at George Mason.
- The Tribe is led by Connor Kochera who leads the team in scoring at 11.9 ppg, adding 5.0 rpg as well. William & Mary has also gotten contributions from Ben Wight (11.8 ppg and 6.0 rpg) and Quinn Blair (10.1 ppg and 4.2 rpg) this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
- Elon's comeback attempt fell just short, 80-77, against Delaware on Saturday, Jan. 22.
- Torrence Watson led the charge for the Phoenix, dropping 20 points, four rebounds and three steals, while shooting at a 6-of-11 mark from the field. The performance marked Watson's seventh double-figure scoring outing this season, and his first since posting a career-best 34 points against High Point on Dec. 4, 2021.
- Michael Graham came through with another strong afternoon, finishing with a new career-high 19 points, adding 11 rebounds and a block in his 31 minutes of action. It marked the fourth double-double of the season for Graham and his second in a row. Through seven CAA outings this season, Graham is averaging 12.7 points, eight rebounds and two blocks per game.
- Darius Burford chipped in 18 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals in 32 minutes. Burford has now had at least two steals in nine games this season and has a scored at least 10 points a team-high 12 times.
- Hunter McIntosh and Chuck Hannah combined for 14 points, six assists and three rebounds in the loss.  
- Elon scored 36 points in the paint, 23 points off the bench and 13 points off turnovers.  
 
THE FACES OF 2021-22
- Elon returned three starters in Chuck Hannah, All-CAA Second Team honoree Hunter McIntosh and CAA All-Rookie selection Darius Burford.
- Other returnees for the Phoenix includes seniors Jerald Gillens-Butler, Kris Wooten and Charlie Mendys, juniors Ben Daugherty, Hunter Woods and Zac Ervin, and sophomores Michael Graham and JaDun Michael.
-Additionally, the maroon and gold welcomes five newcomers to the squad in Mizzou transfer Torrence Watson, Mississippi State transfer Andrew Junkin and freshmen RJ Noord, Sam Sherry and Reece Clark.
 
CAA PRESEASON POLL
- The Colonial Athletic Association announced its preseason poll on Thursday, Oct. 28, with Elon tabbed to finish sixth.
- The Phoenix had two student-athletes earn preseason all-conference honors in Hunter McIntosh (1st Team) and Jerald Gillens-Butler (Honorable Mention).
- Elon earned a total of 202 points in the poll, including one first-place vote.
- Delaware was chosen as the preseason favorite with 296 points and 19 first-place votes, followed by Northeastern with 246 points and seven first-place votes. Drexel (234 points; five first-place votes), James Madison (224 points, three first-place votes) and Hofstra (211 points; one first-place vote) rounded out the top five.
 
COMING SOON
- The Phoenix is back in action on Jan. 27 when it hosts William & Mary at Schar Center. Following that contest, Elon heads to Williamsburg, Va. for a Jan. 29 matchup with the Tribe.
- Elon then returns home to host UNCW (Feb. 3) and College of Charleston (Feb. 5) respectively.
- The Phoenix follows those contests up with back-to-back road games against JMU (Feb. 10) and Towson (Feb. 12).