ELON – The Elon men's basketball team continues Coastal Athletic Association play this week with a road matchup at Hampton on Thursday night before returning home to host Drexel on Saturday afternoon at Schar Center in a nationally televised game on CBS Sports Network.
Elon (13-10, 5-5 CAA) is seeking its first back-to-back conference wins since Jan. 8-10. Tipoff against the Pirates (10-13, 4-6 CAA) in Hampton, Virginia, is set for 7 p.m. ET Thursday, while Saturday's matchup with Drexel (12-11, 6-4 CAA) tips at noon ET.
GAME INFO – at HAMPTON
GAME INFO – vs. DREXEL
INSIDE THE MATCHUPS
vs. Hampton
- Series record: Elon leads, 3-1
- The Phoenix has won all three regular-season meetings with Hampton since the Pirates joined the CAA in 2022, including an 80-74 road victory on Jan. 27, 2024 – its only game at Hampton during that span.
- All four of Elon's matchups with Hampton have been decided by eight or fewer points.
- Hampton has lost three straight, including its first home loss of the season against UNCW on Jan. 24. The Pirates at 7-1 at home.
vs. Drexel
- Series record: Elon trails, 9-13
- Drexel enters the week riding a three-game win streak and will play at Campbell on Thursday before heading to Elon.
- The Dragons are the CAA's top defense in points allowed per game in conference play (60.1 PPG).
- Drexel eliminated Elon from the 2025 CAA Tournament with a 91-74 win on March 8, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
- Elon is 2-3 against Drexel in the Billy Taylor era.
STARTING FIVE
1. Something To Prove
Picked 12th in the CAA preseason coaches' poll, Elon has outperformed external expectations more than halfway through the conference slate at 5-5, sitting in a four-way tie for fifth place and just one game back of third place. After splitting last week's contests – a comeback 79-76 win over William & Mary, followed by a 72-68 defeat to Stony Brook – Elon will take aim at its first back-to-back conference wins since early January this week when it plays at Hampton and hosts Drexel. The Phoenix remains in the thick of the CAA hunt has it pursues its first winning conference record since 2016-17.
2. Business Trips
Elon is 5-5 on the road this season and is one of three CAA teams with at least a .500 road record entering this week's slate, joining UNCW (8-2) and Hofstra (7-7). The Phoenix is also 2-2 in conference road games, with wins at Triad rival North Carolina A&T on Jan. 8 and at Hofstra on Jan. 17, handing the Pride its first home loss of the season. Elon's three nonconference road victories came at UNCG in overtime (Nov. 8), Appalachian State (Nov. 24) and Wofford (Dec. 6), with the latter two decided by a combined 56 points. The road success marks a significant turnaround for the program, which lost 24 straight nonconference road games from Dec. 22, 2018, to Nov. 15, 2024, and did not win more than three road games in a season across five straight years from 2019-24.
3. Strength vs. Strength
Elon's high-powered offense faces two of the CAA's top statistical defenses this week in Drexel (65.7 points allowed per game) and Hampton (68.0), setting up a pair of strength-versus-strength matchups. The Phoenix ranks second in the conference and 66th nationally in scoring at 82.4 PPG — the highest average of any Division I season in program history (previous best: 75.9 in 2015-16). Elon has scored 90+ points five times, including a season-high 103 in its CAA opener against Northeastern on Dec. 29. The Phoenix generates offense at all three levels, averaging 37.7 points in the paint while shooting 56.0% on 2-point attempts, and ranks third in the CAA with 9.4 made 3-pointers per game at a 35.6% clip from beyond the arc.
4. Leading Role
At the center of Elon's offense is graduate forward
Chandler Cuthrell, who has emerged as one of the nation's most productive scorers with 20.7 points per game (21st nationally). Cuthrell arrived at Elon this past offseason with a career scoring average of 6.1 PPG and has since exploded onto the scene, scoring 20-plus points in 15 of the Phoenix's 22 games so far. The 6-foot-8 forward is second in the CAA in field-goal percentage (51.3%) but has made a living at the free throw line, ranking sixth nationally with 181 attempts (70.2% shooter at the line). Named to the early-season Lou Henson Award Watch List, Cuthrell is one of just 11 Division I players averaging at least 20.0 points (20.7) and 6.0 rebounds (6.5) per game.
5. Floor General
Elon has found both stability and poise at the point guard position in graduate
Ja'Juan Carr, a former UNCW Seahawk who helped UNC Pembroke win 74 games over three seasons (2022-25). Carr leads the CAA and ranks 15th nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.52) this season and has been even more efficient in conference play with a 5.0 ratio (55 assists, 11 turnovers). More than a distributor, Carr has scored double figures four times in league action, highlighted by a season-high 17 points on 7-of-9 shooting to help rally Elon past Campbell on Jan. 10.
UP NEXT
Elon plays a pair of road games next week at UNCW on Feb. 12 and William & Mary on Feb. 14.
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