Elon MBB Meets William & Mary Thursday in Williamsburg

ELON, N.C. – The Elon University men’s basketball team meets the William & Mary Tribe in the team’s second Colonial Athletic Association road game of the season on Thursday night, Jan. 5, inside Kaplan Arena. The 11th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and the Tribe will tip off at 7 p.m.

GAME NOTES

COVERAGE
Watch the action exclusively on CAA.tv through TribeAthletics.tv. You can also listen to the action on the Elon IMG Sports Network on 104.5 FM, 1200 AM or on the TuneIn app. Taylor Durham and Ryan Meizinger will have the call from Kaplan Arena and the pregame show begins at 6:30 p.m.

SERIES HISTORY
Thursday marks the 11th all-time meeting between Elon and William & Mary. The Tribe have won the last four meetings against the Phoenix and lead the all-time series 9-1 and 4-1 during Elon’s Division I era. William & Mary swept the season series in 2015-16, winning 75-65 on Feb. 25, 2016 inside Alumni Gym and 89-67 on Jan. 21, 2016 at Kaplan Arena. Elon’s last victory against the Tribe came on Jan. 8, 2015, during the Phoenix’s inaugural season in the CAA. Elon toppled the Tribe 85-79 on Jan. 8, 2015 in Alumni Gym.

340 AND COUNTING
The Elon men’s basketball program has made at least one three-point field goal in 340 consecutive games (not including exhibition games). The last time Elon did not make a three in a game was Jan. 30, 2006, at Georgia Southern when the team went 0-of-14 from deep. Elon is currently averaging 9.4 triples per game, which is first in the CAA. The Phoenix averaged 9.5 made three pointers a game last season.

MATT MATHENY MILESTONE
Head coach Matt Matheny won his 116th game at Elon on Wednesday, Dec. 28, against Central Penn. With the win, he passed Robert “Bob” Burton (1986-93) for the fourth most in program history. Matheny currently has 116 career victories and is eight wins away from passing D.C. “Peahead” Walker (1927-1937) and moving into third all-time.

SCORING EFFICIENTLY
Brian Dawkins is shooting 55.7% from the field and 56.8 % from the three-point line. His shooting percentage ranks second in the CAA and his three-point shooting percentage is the best in the league thus far. Tyler Seibring is shooting 47.8% from the floor, which is 10th-best in the league.

LUKE EDDY MILESTONE
Senior point guard Luke Eddy reached 200 assists in his career with three against South Florida on Nov. 17. He currently sits at 234 for his career. He is currently 42 assists away from moving into the top-10 in program history. Tony Chavis ’89 is 10th all-time with 275 career assists.

ELON CRACKS THE MID-MAJOR POLL
The Elon University men’s basketball team cracked the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 Poll on Nov. 28, earning a No. 23 ranking. Elon held the No. 23 ranking for two weeks, also appearing in the Dec. 5 poll. The Phoenix has since dropped out of the top-25. It was Elon’s first appearance in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top-25 since Feb. 4, 2013, when the Phoenix earned a No. 25 ranking.

The CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Top 25 Poll is now in its eighteenth season of existence. The Mid-Major Poll is made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Summit, Sun Belt, West Coast, Western Athletic.

ROAD TO NORTH CHARLESTON
The 2017 Colonial Athletic Association Men’s Basketball Championship is scheduled for March 3-6 in North Charleston, S.C., at the North Charleston Coliseum. Last year, UNCW topped Hofstra in the championship game to earn the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
The Tribe (7-6, 1-1 CAA), winners in two of its last three, is coming off a thrilling overtime victory at Hofstra on Monday. Daniel Dixon beat the buzzer with a three-pointer to help William & Mary defeat the Pride, 95-93. The Tribe split its opening weekend of conference play, falling at Northeastern, 84-64, on Dec. 31. Dixon leads the Tribe in scoring averaging 15.4 points per game. He was recently named the CAA Player of the Week on Jan. 2, after pouring in a career-high 36 points on 11-of-15 shooting, including 5-of-7 from the free throw line, in the Tribe’s 65-54 win at Old Dominion to close out their non-conference slate. An important characteristic of the Tribe’s offense under head coach Tony Shaver has been its ability to share the basketball. The Tribe leads the conference averaging 17.3 assists per game this season, which ranks 28th in the NCAA. Like the Phoenix, William & Mary is also a threat from behind the arc, as they lead the league with 9.5 made triples per game.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix returns home on Saturday, Jan. 7, to host the Towson Tigers at 7 p.m. in Alumni Gym. The game will be broadcasted exclusively on Phoenix All-Access and CAA.tv.