ELON – The Elon men's basketball team will take on familiar Piedmont Triad foe UNCG on the road Saturday afternoon at Fleming Gymnasium in Greensboro. Tipoff is set for 4 p.m. ET and the contest will be streamed via ESPN+.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Date & Time: Saturday, Nov. 8 | 4 p.m. ET
• Location: Greensboro, North Carolina | Fleming Gymnasium
• Watch: ESPN+
• Listen: Elon Sports Network | The Varsity Network App | PxP: Max Wallace
• Live Stats: Statbroadcast

INSIDE THE MATCHUP – ELON vs. UNCG

• Series record: Elon leads, 27-19
• Elon (1-0) and UNCG have met 46 times dating back to 1971 in a series that includes 11 years as Southern Conference counterparts.
• The Phoenix snapped a six-game losing streak to UNCG with a 73-69 win at home last season on Dec. 21, 2024. Former Phoenix Sam Sherry posted a dominant double-double with 28 points and 14 rebounds to fuel a 14-point, second-half comeback by Elon.
• The Spartans (0-1) dropped their season opener 93-64 at Kansas State on Tuesday. UNCG held a 34-33 lead at halftime before faltering in the second half. Justin Neely led the Spartans with 15 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

STARTING FIVE
1. One Down, Many To Go
Elon took care of business in a 99-51 season-opening victory over Belmont Abbey on Wednesday. Graduate transfer forward Chandler Cuthrell scored a career-high 21 points to lead six Phoenix newcomers who finished with double-figure points, including Ja'Juan Carr (15 points), Kacper Klaczek (12), Randall Pettus II (12), Bryson Cokley (12) and DeMarco Johnson (11). Elon stormed out to a 64-24 halftime lead behind 59.5% shooting and 11 makes from deep in the opening 20 minutes.
 
2. Veteran Boost
Four of Elon's eight transfers from the past offseason – Carr, Cuthrell, Klaczek and Bryson Spell – are graduates, giving Elon an experienced quartet to lean on during the early stages of the 2025-26 season. The foursome has played a combined 305 career college basketball games. Carr was a 1,000-point scorer in three seasons at the NCAA Division II level with UNC Pembroke while leading the Braves to three straight NCAA DIII Tournament appearances and both Cuthrell (7.4 points, 5.8 rebounds) and Klaczek (8.7 PPG, 5.4 RPG) averaged career-best figures last season for Purdue Fort Wayne and UAlbany, respectively.
 
3. True Phoenix
Junior forward Isaac Harrell leads a group of five returners from last season on the Phoenix's 2025-26 roster. Harrell, who played in 32 of 33 games for the Phoenix last year, averaged career highs in points (4.1) and rebounds (4.0) as a sophomore and ended the season with a glimpse of what he's capable of with a career-best 20 points on 6-of-7 shooting from 3-point range against Army in the first round of the CBI Tournament. Harrell – who tipped in a game-winning buzzer beater at UNCW as a freshman in 2024 – started Wednesday's season opener and tallied a team-high three steals, two rebounds and an assist in 20 minutes played.
 
4. More New Faces
Five other newcomers – four transfers and one freshman – will play key roles in the Elon rotation early this season. Pettus, a junior guard who averaged 6.2 points across 61 games and two seasons for Northern Kentucky, knocked down four 3-pointers in Wednesday's win while Cokley, a sophomore transfer from George Mason, chipped in 12 points as well. Sophomore big man Caleb Middleton (New Hampshire) fell just short of a double-double with eight points and nine rebounds, while freshman guard DeMarco Johnson impressed with 11 points, a team-high six assists and five rebounds in his collegiate debut.
 
5. Spartan Ties
Elon first-year assistant coach and UNCG alumnus Courtney Eldridge returns to his alma mater Saturday. Eldridge – one of five Spartan greats to have their jersey (No. 23) retired – is a 2015 UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame inductee, having played for the Spartans from 1998-2002. Eldridge was a part of the Spartans' 2001 NCAA Tournament team that won the SoCon Tournament title and is the program's all-time leader in assists (584) while ranking second in program history in steals (226).
 
Phoenix graduate forward Chandler Cuthrell is the son of fellow UNCG Hall of Famer Eric Cuthrell, a key member of the Spartans' first NCAA Division I Tournament team in 1996. The older Cuthrell was a two-time All-Big South first team selection and amassed 939 points, 859 rebounds and a then-UNCG record 183 blocks during his standout career (1993-96) with the Spartans.
 
UP NEXT
The Phoenix is back on the road next Wednesday at Marshall. Tipoff at the Cam Henderson Center in Huntington, West Virginia, is slated for 7 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on ESPN+.
 
SUPPORT THE PHOENIX
Fans can support Elon Athletics through the Phoenix Club. To purchase 2025-26 season tickets, visit TicketMaster.com/ElonTickets.
 
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Elon men's basketball, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonMBasketball) and Instagram (@ElonMBasketball).