Elon Men’s Basketball Heads to Philadelphia to face Drexel

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball starts a three-game road swing in CAA action with a trip to Philadelphia to face the Drexel Dragons on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m. inside the Daskalakis Athletic Center.

GAME NOTES (PDF) | PREVIEW

COVERAGE
Watch the action on CAA.TV as the broadcast will be produced by DrexelDragons.TV. You can listen to the Elon IMG Sports Network broadcast of the game on WSJS 104.5 FM and 1200 AM as Taylor Durham and Brian Morris will call the action with the pregame show starting at 6:30 p.m.

THE SERIES
• Thursday will be the 10th all-time meeting between Elon and Drexel, and fourth time the foes have faced off inside the DAC.
• This is the second time the two teams have faced off this season, as Elon won 90-75 on Dec. 30, 2017 in Alumni Gym.
• Last season, Elon swept the regular season series for the second straight year, winning 93-73 in Alumni Gym on Jan. 19, 2017 and earning the 65-56 victory at Drexel on Feb. 18, 2017. Elon has won four of the last five meetings against Drexel.
• The Dragons last victory over the Phoenix was in the 2016 CAA Championship First Round as they edged Elon 57-56 on March 4, 2015 at Royal Farms Arena in Baltimore. The first-ever meeting between Elon and Drexel took place on Nov. 18, 2013 in Piscataway N.J. as part of the NIT Season Tip-off. The Dragons won 71-64 as the eighth seed in the preseason tournament.

A LOOK AT ELON
• The Phoenix has a 12-9 record overall and owns a 4-4 mark in CAA action after falling to William & Mary 80-73 on Saturday in Alumni Gym. Elon is currently on its longest losing streak of the season after back-to-back losses.
• Tyler Seibring has been solid in his first five conference games, averaging 17.3 points and 7.6 rebounds. He is also shooting 55.9% from the floor and 46.0% from three.
• Seibring and Thompson each scored their 1,000th career point on Jan. 7 in a win at Hofstra.
• Elon is scoring 74.0 ppg and allowing 73.4 ppg thus far through 21 games. The team has only been held to under 70 points 6 times and under 60 points just twice this season.
• Offensively, Elon ranks 2nd in the CAA averaging 10.8 made three-pointers. Elon also is 2nd in the league averaging with 15.7 assists per contest.
• The Phoenix continues to improve defensively, allowing teams to shoot 42.1% from the floor which ranks 2nd overall in the CAA. Elon’s 42.7% field goal percentage defense in CAA games ranks 1st in the league. Elon is also 1st in the league in defensive rebounds, averaging 29.0 per game.
• Tyler Seibring is currently Elon’s leading scorer at 14.0 ppg, Seibring is also 11th in the league averaging a team-best 6.5 rpg, while Dainan Swoope is 5th in the CAA with 3.7 apg.
• Eberhardt has the 3rd-best assist/turnover ratio in the CAA with a 2.4 ratio with 64 assists to just 28 turnovers.
• Elon is 2nd in NCAA Division I in fouls committed per game. The Phoenix averages just 13.9 personal fouls per game.
• Elon completed its non-conference schedule with eight or more wins for the 4th straight year.
• The Phoenix returned all five starters and its top five scorers from a team that finished 18-14 overall and placed tied for fourth in the CAA with a 10-8 mark in 2016-17.
• Four of the five starters averaged double-figure scoring last season, led by 2016-17 All-CAA Second Team forward Tyler Seibring, who averaged a team-high 14.4 ppg.
• Dawkins, Thompson, Jack Anton, Jack George and Collin Luther make up this year’s senior class.
• Elon also made three additions this past offseason, bringing in freshman guard Nathan Priddy and forwards Simon Wright and Duje Radja into the fold.

IT’S ALL ABOUT BALANCE
• All five of Elon’s starters are averaging doubles figures through 21 games this season. Seibring leads the way with 14.0 ppg, while Swoope is second averaging 13.3 ppg.
• Rounding out the top scorers are Brian Dawkins (12.1 ppg), Dmitri Thompson (11.4 ppg), and Steven Santa Ana (10.4 ppg).
• Elon has had 7 different players finish in double figures this season and 6 have led their team in scoring during games.
• The Phoenix has had at least three players finish in double-figures in 17 games this season. The only 4 times this season Elon had less in a game was two against Radford (11/22), at UNCG (12/7) and at Northeastern (1/5) and one at Canisius (12/17).

JOINING THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
• Dmitri Thompson and Tyler Seibring each joined the 1,000-point club on Sunday, Jan. 7, at Hofstra.
• Seibring was the first to join, becoming the 40th player overall and the 11th junior to reach the mark.
• Thompson followed becoming the 41st player in 109 seasons of Elon basketball to reach 1,000 career points.
• Dainan Swoope is the next in line to reach the mark. He has 944 career points, just 56 away. Brian Dawkins follows with 864 career points and needs 136 to join the club.

SWOOPE THERE IT IS
• Dainan Swoope has shown improvement on the scoring end his junior campaign, averaging 13.3 ppg this season in comparison to his 11.7 ppg last season. Swoope has scored in double figures 15 times thus far and is currently 19th in the CAA in scoring.
• Swoope is also 5th in the CAA in assists averaging 3.7 dimes per game this season.
• The junior finished the non-conference portion of the schedule averaging 14.7 ppg and shot 85.1% from the free throw line.
• Before suffering an ankle injury in the second half at UNCG, Swoope was averaging 17.1 ppg in the first nine contests.
• He had 20+ points in four straight games from Nov. 17-22 and averaged 23.8 ppg during that span.

PROVIDING A SPARK
• Sheldon Eberhardt has made an impact off the bench, scoring in double-figures three times this season for the Phoenix.
• He posted a career-high 10 assists in Elon’s victory over Saint Peter’s, which was the first time an Elon player had 10 or more assists in a game since Chris Long had 10 on Feb. 19, 2011 against UNCG.
• Eberhardt is currently averaging 5.8 points and 3.2 assists per contest. He also has one of the highest shooting percentages on the team at 50%.

LET IT FLY
• The Phoenix is 2nd in the CAA and 15th in the NCAA with 10.8 three-pointers made per game.
• Elon’s 226 total three-pointers this season ranks 1st in the CAA and 7th in the NCAA.
• The maroon and gold also ranks first in the league with 643 three-point attempts, which ranks 6th nationally.

378 AND COUNTING
• The Elon program has made at least one three-point field goal in 378 consecutive games (not including exhibition games). The matchup on Feb. 4, 2017 at College of Charleston marked the 350th consective game.
• 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.

FINAL SEASON OF ALUMNI GYM
• The 2017-18 season marks the 67th and final year of competition inside historic Alumni Gym as the program is set to relocate to the Schar Center for the 2018-19 campaign. The arena opened its doors in 1950.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
• Elon has a 7-2 record overall record at home and has sold out three times this year in its final season inside Alumni Gym.
• Since the 2011-12 season, Elon has a 66-30 record (31-8 vs. non-conference teams) inside Alumni Gym. Elon has sold out Alumni Gym 21 times under head coach Matt Matheny, with its most recent sellout coming on Jan. 11, 2018. Matheny is 14-8 all-time in front of sellout crowds in Alumni Gym.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix heads to Towson to face the Tigers on College Sports Live’s CAA “Game of the Week”. The matchup inside SECU Arena will tip off at 2 p.m.