ELON, N.C. – After being idle for a week for final exams, the Elon University men's basketball team returns to the court as the Phoenix (5-4) plays Piedmont Triad rival UNCG (7-1) this Sunday, Dec. 10 at the Greensboro Coliseum. Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• The game will stream live on ESPN+ via a paid subscription.
• Listen to the game on the Elon Sports Network from Learfield on The Varsity Network app.
• Longtime voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham, will be on the call with the pregame show beginning at 4:00 p.m.
• Links for the broadcast and live stats can be found on the Elon men's basketball schedule page at elonphoenix.com.
• Other in-game updates will be provided on Twitter by following @ElonMBasketball.
 
TICKETS ON SALE
• Single-game tickets are now available for the 2023-24 Elon Basketball season! Don't miss the action, be there to cheer on your Phoenix! Grab your tickets today and be a part of the excitement in Schar Center!
• The Elon University Department of Athletics has many ticket options available for fans, including season tickets, single-game tickets and voucher books.
• For more information, visit ElonTickets.com or call the Elon Ticket Office at 336-278-6750.
 
THE MATCHUP
• The two longtime I-40 rivals will meet on the basketball hardwood for the 45^th time on Sunday in a series dating back to 1971-72. Elon leads the all-time series versus UNCG, 26-18.
• UNCG has won five straight in the series over the Phoenix including last year's 65-61 victory over Elon at Schar Center. Sean Halloran had 21 points – all in the second half – to lead the Phoenix while Zac Ervin had 18 points off the bench while knocking down 4-of-6 from three.
• Elon's last win in the series came during the 2015-16 season. The Phoenix defeated the Spartans by a score of 79-69 at Alumni Gym. Christian Hairston paced the Phoenix with a game-high 17 points on an efficient 7-for-10 shooting, while Tyler Seibring and Steven Santa Ana each added 13 points. Luke Eddy scored eight points and dished out a game-high nine assists.
• Elon holds a 5-3 ledger versus UNCG at Greensboro Coliseum during the Phoenix's Division I era.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix suffered a road setback at Radford, 82-72, in its most recent contest last Sunday, Dec. 3. The loss snapped the Phoenix's two-game win streak.
• Both TK Simpkins and Kendall Campbell capped career days with Simpkins finishing with an Elon career-high 23 points. Campbell finished with a career-best 15 points and tied a career-high with seven boards, six of which came on the offensive end. Zac Ervin joined Simpkins and Campbell in double figures with 12, all coming in the first half.
• The teams shot a combined 61 free throws with Elon attempting 31 of the 61. Campbell went 11-of-13 from the charity stripe, tying for the fifth-most makes in school history.
• Elon fell to 9-6 all-time versus the Highlanders with Radford extending its win streak over the Phoenix to two.
 
SCOUTING ELON
• The Elon offense continues to be potent through the first nine games, as the Phoenix is averaging a CAA-best 82.8 points on 48.5 percent shooting from the field, including 9.1 3-pointers per game and 72.5 percent shooting from the line. The maroon and gold ranks 40^th in the nation in points per game and 34^th overall in the country in effective field goal percentage at 56.2 percent.
• The bench unit for Elon continues to be productive, ranking 16^th in the country in scoring at 33.56 points per game. Against Radford, the Phoenix scored 35 points off the pine, outdueling Radford's reserves by an even 20 points. It was the sixth time this season Elon has scored 30 or more points off the bench.
• Simpkins currently leads the Phoenix in scoring at 13.8 ppg. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native has scored in double figures in eight out of nine games. He is also in the top-10 of the CAA in steals per game, averaging 1.9 per contest. He is also 26^th overall in the country in free throw attempts with 62.
• Max Mackinnon continues to display a great all-around game as the sophomore currently is second on the team at 11.3 ppg while leading the Phoenix in rebounds at 5.2 rpg. The Brisbane, Australia, native leads the squad in assists with 25 and is one of four players on the team with 20 or more assists.
• Ervin is third on the team in scoring at 10.0 ppg. The Gate City, Va., native leads the team with 21 triples on the season, knocking down treys at a 44.7 percent clip. Over his last three games, Ervin is shooting 9-of-14 from downtown, hitting a sizzling 64.3 percent of his shots.
• Ervin has 178 made threes in his career, which is currently 13^th in school history. He is only two triples away from tying Drew Spradlin '12 for 11^th all-time in program history.
• The Phoenix returns eight players from last year's roster for second-year head coach Billy Taylor. Elon was predicted to finish 10^th in the 2023-24 CAA Preseason Poll after going 6-12 in league play last season.
• Along with Mackinnon, other returning starters for the Phoenix include Ervin and junior Sam Sherry. Ervin led the Phoenix in three-point makes last season with 61 while averaging 9.3 points per contest. The 6-foot-5 guard was third on the team in minutes per game (27.5) and assists (47).
• After averaging less than 10 minutes a game as a freshman, Sherry came on strong during his sophomore campaign. The Mechanicsville, Pa., native averaged 9.1 points and 4.3 rebounds per game while blocking a team-high 25 shots. He also finished second on the team in field-goal percentage at 57.8 and ended the year with his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds versus William & Mary at the CAA Tournament.
• The maroon and gold also welcomes back three other veterans in senior JaDun Michael and sophomores Smart and LA Pratt. Michael played in 18 games with five starts, averaging 4.1 points. Pratt saw valuable playing time during his freshman season in which he started eight games while Smart gave the Phoenix valuable minutes off the bench before an injury cut short his season in which he averaged 9.0 points per game while 72.2 percent from the floor.
•Elon welcomes eight newcomers to its roster for 2023-24. Joining the Phoenix are transfers Rob Higgins and TK Simpkins along with incoming freshmen Nick Dorn, Grant Gondrezick II, Ned Hull and Savion Taylor.
• Among the notable newcomers include Higgins, a transfer from St. Francis Brooklyn College where he spent the past four seasons. A 6-foot-1, 185-pound guard from Middletown, N.J., Higgins tied for the team-lead in scoring this past season at St. Francis Brooklyn, averaging 11.3 points per contest.
• Simpkins is a 6-foot-4, 170-pound guard who was a member of the Northwest Florida State College program last season. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native appeared in 37 games for the Raiders, averaging 8.8 points per game.
 
SCOUTING UNCG
• Under third-year head coach Mike Jones, the Spartans are 7-1 on the season and have won six in a row after an 87-85 overtime victory over Eastern Kentucky on Thursday. Amongst the notable wins for UNCG during that stretch was a 78-72 win at No. 14 Arkansas on Nov. 17.
• UNCG is averaging 79.9 points per game on 47.2 percent shooting, including 39.7 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 70.4 points on 40.4 percent shooting, including 31.8 percent from long range. The Spartans are connecting on 72.0 percent from the free throw line. The team ranks 15^th nationally and first in the Southern Conference in three-point percentage.
• Three players are averaging double figures for the Spartans led by senior forward Mikeal Jones-Brown, who is averaging 18.9 points on 58.7 percent shooting, including 60.0 percent from 3-point range, to go with 7.0 rebounds per game. Sophomore Donovan Atwell averages 13.3 points on 44.2 percent shooting, including 42.6 percent from 3-point range with a team-best 26 made three-pointers.
• Graduate student Keyshaun Langley is third on the squad in scoring at 12.9 points per game. His twin brother Kobe ranks ninth in the nation in assists per game at 6.8 and 20^th overall in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.60.
• The Spartans were picked to finish second in the 2023 SoCon Preseason Poll as UNCG returned eight players from last season's team that went 20-12 overall and 14-4 in the SoCon. Jones is the reigning SoCon Coach of the Year and has amassed a career record of 44-28 at UNCG.
 
PRESEASON PRAISE
• Sophomore Max Mackinnon received some preseason praise from the CAA as the Brisbane, Australia, native was named to the 2023-24 Preseason All-CAA second team on Oct. 19.
• The reigning CAA Rookie of the Year in 2022-23, Mackinnon is the Phoenix's returning leader in points (11.4 ppg), rebounds (5.1 rpg), assists (2.4 apg) and steals (1.1 spg). Mackinnon is coming off a rookie campaign in which he shot nearly 50 percent from the floor and was named CAA Rookie of the Week selection a league-high four times. He also led the program with three double-doubles and scored in double figures 17 times including four 20-point performances.
• Among Mackinnon's standout games last season included him scoring 19 points at No. 18/21 Indiana, the second-highest point total that a freshman has scored against the Hoosiers at that point of the season. He also scored a season-high 24 points while adding his first career double-double with 12 rebounds at High Point. He also added 20 points and a season-best eight assists at Northeastern while scoring 17 points with a career-best 13 rebounds at No. 22 College of Charleston.
 
UP NEXT
Elon is back on its home floor, hosting Bridgewater at Schar Center next Friday, Dec. 15. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. start time and will air on FloHoops.