ELON, N.C. – Elon University men's basketball returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 29, when it travels to Williamsburg, Va. for a rematch of Thursday night's contest against William & Mary. Tipoff in the matchup is scheduled for 4 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 3:30 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
- Saturday afternoon marks the 24^th meeting between Elon and William & Mary.
- The Phoenix currently trails in the all-time series, 16-7.
- In the most recent meeting between the two programs, Elon defeated William & Mary, 61-54 on Thursday, Jan. 27.
- Michael Graham led the Phoenix with 20 points and 12 rebounds, while Torrence Watson chipped in 14 points and six boards. Hunter McIntosh also added 13 points in the win.  

SCOUTING ELON
- Former CAA All-Rookie honoree Darius Burford is currently leading the team in scoring (12.2 ppg), assists (3.0 apg) and steals (1.62 spg), while being third on the team in rebounding (4.2 rpg). Burford has scored in double figures 12 times this season and has nabbed at least two steals in nine games this year. His 14.1 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 11.7 points per game, adding 3.0 assists per contest as well. McIntosh has scored in double figures in 46 career games, including 12 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 (9.7 ppg), while leading the team in rebounding at 7.0 rpg. Graham has scored at least 10 points in nine straight games and has registered five double doubles this season (three in a row). Against Drexel, Graham set a new career-high with 20 points, adding 12 rebounds in the win. His 13.6 ppg scoring output in conference play ranks in the top-15 while his 8.5 rebounding average and 2.0 blocked shot mark ranks third.
- Torrence Watson is fourth on the team in scoring 9.2 points per game, adding 3.0 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 7.6 points per game, adding 3.1 rebounds per contest. Ervin has knocked down 35 threes while shooting at a 35.0 percent clip from long distance so far this season.
- Junior forward Hunter Woods is chipping in 6.9 points and 4.6 rebounds in 25.2 minutes through 20 games this season. Woods is also currently second on the team in steals this season with 25 total.
- Senior forward Chuck Hannah is averaging 4.8 points and 2.9 rebounds in 22.2 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 (199 – 1st), threes made per game (9.5 – 1st) and total assists (281 – 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 4-17 overall record and 3-5 record in CAA play after falling to Elon, 61-54, in its most recent contest. Ben Wight led the Tribe in the contest, dropping 14 points and six rebounds. Connor Kochera added 12 points and six rebounds, while Brandon Carroll logged a double-double with 11 points and 10 boards.
- 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 (11.9 ppg and 6.0 rpg) and Quinn Blair (10.1 ppg and 4.2 rpg) this season.
 
LAST TIME OUT
- Elon got back on track with a 61-54 win over William & Mary on Thursday, Jan. 27, at Schar Center. With the win, the Phoenix moved to 3-1 at home in CAA play and 6-3 overall on its home court this season.
- Michael Graham continued his strong play, finishing with a new career-high 20 points, adding 12 rebounds and two blocks in the third-straight double-double for the sophomore. He has five double doubles so far this season. Through eight CAA outings this season, Graham has upped his averages to 13.6 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game.
- Torrence Watson added 14 points and six rebounds on 4-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc in the win. The performance marked Watson's eighth double-figure scoring outing this season, and his second in a row after finishing with 20 points against Delaware on Jan. 22.
- Hunter McIntosh ended the night with 13 points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 34 minutes of action. The performance marked the 13^th double-digit scoring output for the junior this year and the 46^th in his career.
- Darius Burford posted eight points and four rebounds in 32 minutes, while Hunter Woods led the team with a career-high six assists.
- The Phoenix allowed a season-low in three-point percentage, holding the tribe to just 18.2 percent (4-of-22), including a 10 percent (1-of-10) mark in the second half.
- Elon scored 26 points in the paint and 12 points off turnovers. 
- The Phoenix led by as much as 13 and for 35:45 of a possible 40 minutes.
 
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. 29 when it 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).