ELON – The Elon men's basketball team opens CAA play in the final week of the 2025 calendar year, hosting Northeastern on Monday at 7 p.m. ET and College of Charleston on Wednesday at 2 p.m. ET at the Schar Center.
 
The Phoenix (8-5) is coming off a seven-day holiday break and will look to start 2-0 in conference play for the second straight year.
 
GAME INFORMATION

• Dates & Times: vs. Northeastern: Monday, Dec. 29; 7 p.m. ET | vs. College of Charleston: Wednesday, Dec. 31; 2 p.m. ET
• Location: Elon, North Carolina | Schar Center
• Watch: FloCollege | PxP: Taylor Durham | Analyst: Will Roberson
• Listen: Elon Sports Network | The Varsity Network App
• Live Stats (Statbroadcast): Northeastern | College of Charleston

 
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
vs. Northeastern

• Series record: Elon trails, 8-13
• Elon is 3-2 in its last five games against Northeastern, including a 2-2 mark during the Billy Taylor era (2022-present). The Phoenix won the most recent meeting, 71–60, on Feb. 1, 2025, in Elon.
• All 21 previous games played between Elon and Northeastern (4-7) have been as CAA foes dating back to the 2014-15 season.
• Husky senior guard LA Pratt played his first two collegiate seasons at Elon (2022-24) before transferring to Northeastern. A 2025 All-CAA Preseason Second Team selection, Pratt is out for the season with a broken foot.
• Northeastern has dropped two straight and four of its last five dating back to Nov. 28. After winning its first two road games of the season at Colgate and Harvard in early November, the Huskies have since lost five straight away from home to Princeton, Wake Forest, Holy Cross, Syracuse and Rhode Island.

vs. College of Charleston

• Series record: Elon trails, 9-30
• Charleston (7-6) has won seven straight against Elon – the longest streak by either team in the 39-game series – since Jan. 9, 2022. Elon's last win over the Cougars was on Feb. 14, 2021, and its last home win in the series came on Jan. 13, 2018.
• The Cougars have won three in a row against Charlotte, The Citadel and Northern Kentucky. They'll host CAA counterpart Drexel on Monday before trekking to Elon for the New Year's Eve clash.

 
STARTING FIVE
1. Something To Prove
Picked 12th out of 13 teams in the CAA Preseason Coaches' Poll, Elon enters league play with plenty of motivation and momentum. The Phoenix is one of six CAA programs to notch at least eight nonconference wins – including a 4-1 mark since Dec. 6 – and will look to carry that success into the 18-game CAA slate. Elon now seeks its first winning conference record since the 2016-17 season.
 
2. Leading Role
Graduate forward Chandler Cuthrell has emerged as one of the nation's most productive scorers in his first and only season with the Phoenix, ranking second in the CAA and 16th nationally at 21.2 points per game. A collegiate journeyman with previous stops at Odessa, UTSA and Purdue Fort Wayne, Cuthrell arrived at Elon with a career scoring average of 6.1 points per game but has developed into a true three-level scorer. He is shooting 53.4% from the field and 31% from beyond the arc, while doing much of his damage at the free-throw line – ranking 10th nationally with 102 attempts and converting 70.6% (72-of-102).
 
Named to the early-season Lou Henson Award Watch List – presented annually to the nation's top mid-major player – Cuthrell is one of just four players in Division I averaging at least 21.0 points (21.2) and 7.0 rebounds (7.1), joining Duke's Cameron Boozer, BYU's AJ Dybantsa and Texas Tech's JT Toppin.
 
3. Battle Tested
Elon navigated a competitive nonconference slate to earn a top-150 NET ranking (143rd) and an 8-5 record that includes three road wins at UNCG, Appalachian State and Wofford – the latter two by a combined 56 points – along with five home victories at the Schar Center, highlighted by a 73-70 win over Richmond on Dec. 17. The Phoenix faced perhaps its toughest test last week in Blacksburg, taking ACC foe Virginia Tech to overtime in an eventual 82-81 loss. Elon led by as many as 19 points in the first half and, despite the narrow defeat, showed it can go toe-to-toe with a Hokies team entering ACC play at 11-2 with a top-65 NET ranking.
 
4. It's Raining Threes
Elon continues to be the CAA's most prolific perimeter shooting team, ranking first in the league in 3-pointers made (9.8 per game) and attempted (28.0) while ranking fourth in 3-point percentage (34.9%). After an uncharacteristic 3-for-19 showing against NIU on Dec. 13, the Phoenix rebounded with back-to-back 10-three performances against Richmond (10-for-25) and Virginia Tech (10-for-30), marking its eighth game this season with double-digit makes from deep.
 
The focal point of Elon's perimeter attack is Randall Pettus II, who ranks second among CAA players in total 3-pointers (35), made per game (2.69) and 3-point percentage (43.2%). Pettus has hit multiple threes in 10 of 13 games and is one of six Phoenix players with double-digit makes – five of whom are shooting at least 32.8% from deep, including Kacper Klaczek (47.4%; 18-for-38).
 
5. Harrell's Hot Hand
Elon forward Isaac Harrell has begun to find his offensive rhythm after a slow start to his junior season. Harrell averaged 13.5 points on 10-for-15 shooting across Elon's 73-70 win over Richmond on Dec. 17 and its 82-81 overtime loss at Virginia Tech on Dec. 20 – including a 7-for-9 mark from 3-point range. A proven perimeter threat who shot nearly 40% from deep as a sophomore in 2024-25, Harrell opened this season 10-for-40 from three over the first 10 games before breaking out with a 3-for-5 performance against Richmond and a perfect 4-for-4 effort at Virginia Tech.
 
UP NEXT
Elon remains in state for its second week of CAA play, visiting North Carolina A&T on Jan. 8 at the Corbett Sports Center in Greensboro before hosting Campbell on Jan. 10. Both games are set for 7 p.m. ET.
 
SUPPORT THE PHOENIX
Fans can support Elon Athletics through the Phoenix Club. To purchase 2025-26 tickets, visit TicketMaster.com/ElonTickets.
 
STAY POSTED
For further coverage of Elon men's basketball, follow the Phoenix on X (@ElonMBasketball) and Instagram (@ElonMBasketball).