ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men's basketball team visits Notre Dame as the Phoenix (2-2) and the Fighting Irish (4-0) square off in a matchup on Friday night, Nov. 22 at the Purcell Pavilion. Game time is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
 
HOW TO FOLLOW
• The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network Extra via the Watch ESPN app.
• Listen to the Elon Sports Network from Learfield IMG College's coverage on The Varsity Network app.
• Longtime voice of the Phoenix, Taylor Durham, will be on the call with the pregame show beginning at 7:00 p.m. EST
• 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.
 
THE MATCHUP
• Elon and Notre Dame have met twice on the basketball hardwood going into Friday's contest with the Fighting Irish having won both meetings in the series.
• The two teams last met on Dec. 16, 2006, in Notre Dame with Elon being handed a 94-63 setback. Devan Carter led Elon with 14 points and Chris Chalko, a native of South Bend, added 12. Adam Constantine led the Phoenix with six rebounds and Scott Grable grabbed five boards, including four on the offensive end.
• Head coach Billy Taylor returns to his alma mater, where he was a member of the Fighting Irish from 1992-95, appearing in 112 career games while serving as a team captain his senior year. He graduated with a degree in accounting and computer applications in 1995. He also earned his CPA license in 1998.
• Friday will be Taylor's second time facing his alma mater as a head coach. His last meeting came on Nov. 27, 2006, as the head coach at Lehigh with the Fighting Irish coming away with a 93-87 win.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Phoenix had a dominant road win at Northern Illinois on Wednesday, Nov. 20 as the Phoenix earned a 75-48 victory over the Huskies.
• Four players scored in double figures for the Phoenix with TK Simpkins pacing the squad with 19 points. TJ Simpkins added 16 points off the bench while Nick Dorn and Sam Sherry both contributed with 12. Both Sherry and Simpkins posted a double-double with 10 rebounds each.
• Elon jumped out to an early 11-5 lead and never trailed beyond that point in the contest. The Huskies would get as close as 23-20 to the Phoenix halfway through the first period, but a 14-0 run from the maroon and gold helped Elon take control of the game.
• Elon dominated the boards, outrebounding the Huskies 53 to 25 including a 13-7 advantage on the offensive glass. TK Simpkins' 10 rebounds was a career-high for the Brooklyn, N.Y., native as he added his second double-double at Elon. Sherry added his fourth career double-double for the maroon and gold.
• The Phoenix shot 46.0 percent from the floor (23-of-49) and hit 22-of-27 free throws at 81.5 percent. The win was also the Phoenix's first true road victory since defeating Kennesaw State in 2018.
 
SCOUTING NOTRE DAME
• The Fighting Irish are 4-0 on the season heading into Friday's contest. Notre Dame earned a 75-58 win over North Dakota State on its home floor on Tuesday in its last contest.
• Notre Dame is averaging 83.5 points per game on 53.0 percent shooting, including 34.6 percent from 3-point range, while allowing 64.5 points on 35.0 percent shooting, including 31.5 percent from long range. The Fighting Irish are connecting on 78.9 percent from the free throw line. The team ranks seventh nationally and first in the ACC in defensive rebounds per game at 33.0.
• Three players are averaging in double figures led by one of the nation's top guards in Penn sophomore transfer Markus Burton, who is averaging 20.5 points on 44.9 percent shooting to go with 6.0 rebounds per game. Junior forward Tae Davis averages 14.3 points on 56.7 percent shooting and is tied with Burton for the team-lead in rebounds at 6.0 boards per game. Braeden Shrewsberry is the other player on double digits for Notre Dame at 13.0 ppg while being the team-leader in three-point makes with seven.
• Notre Dame was predicted to finish 10^th in the 2024-25 ACC Preseason Poll. The Fighting Irish were 13-20 last season with a 7-13 ledger in the ACC.
• Micah Shrewsberry is in his second season as the head coach at Notre Dame. During his career, Shrewsberry has coached in six NCAA Tournaments, two NCAA Final Fours, five NBA Playoffs and two NBA Conference Finals – in addition to coaching all-NBA honorees Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
 
PRESEASON PRAISE
• Junior guard TK Simpkins was named to the 2024-25 Preseason All-CAA as the league announced its preseason awards on Oct. 18. Simpkins is the second Phoenix to earn a spot on the All-CAA preseason team in the past two seasons.
• The Brooklyn, N.Y., native was the Phoenix's top scorer at 13.8 points per game and in total assists with 90. He also finished second on the squad at 4.7 rebounds per game while pacing the Phoenix in free throws made at 128 while hitting 74 percent from the charity stripe.
• During the CAA season, Simpkins upped his scoring average to 14.6 per game and tied for the team-lead in rebounds per contest (4.9) while dishing out 3.7 assists per game. He was also active on the defensive end, recording 45 steals on the season. He scored in double figures 21 times in 2023-24.
 
2023-24 REWIND
• The Phoenix returned nine players from its squad a season ago including three starters. Overall, Elon brings back 54 percent of its scoring, 66 percent of its rebounding, 43 percent of its assists and 41 percent of its three-point field goals from 2023-24.
• Elon is coming off a season ranking third in the CAA in three-point field goal percentage (35.2), fourth in three-point attempts (24.4) and fourth in steals per game (6.3). The Phoenix also posted its first winning record on its home floor at Schar Center for the first time in the seven-year facility (excluding the truncated 2020-21 COVID season).
• Along with Simpkins, Elon's other returning starters are senior forward Sam Sherry and sophomore guard Nick Dorn. Both players averaged over nine points per game while starting at least 22 games for the maroon and gold.
• Head coach Billy Taylor begins his third season at the helm of the Phoenix men's basketball program. Taylor helped the Phoenix to post its first winning record at the Schar Center last season while also helping the maroon and gold earn a pair of wins versus teams with an RPI/NET rating of 150 in UNCW and Delaware.
 
TICKETS ON SALE
• Single-game tickets are available for purchase on ElonTickets.com. Single-game tickets begin at $20 for men's basketball. Fans are able to purchase a book of 10 ticket vouchers for $100. These vouchers are redeemable for a ticket to any Elon men's regular season home game. Ticket vouchers must be redeemed for a reserved seat ticket prior to entry. This can be done at the Schar Center Box Office during regular business hours (M-F, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.) or starting 90 minutes prior to tipoff.
• Elon men's basketball season tickets are just $170. For Phoenix Club donors at the Elon Society level, courtside seats are $210, and access to the Sunbrella Club is $360. The Sunbrella Club provides private access to a cash bar and food buffet catered by Harvest Table with a rotation of menus for each game.
• For more information, visit ElonTickets.com or call the Elon Ticket Office at 336-278-6750.
 
UP NEXT
Elon closes its road trip next weekend, Nov. 29-Dec.1, at the Cathedral Classic Invitational presented by Toyota. The Phoenix will face Maine, Navy and host Penn at the tournament.