Elon MBB Set for Rematch with William & Mary on Thursday

ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball begins the month of February completing its three-game road swing on Thursday night, Feb. 1, facing CAA co-leader William & Mary for the second time in 13 days. The rematch between the two teams will tip off at 7 p.m. inside Kaplan Arena.

GAME NOTES (PDF) | PREVIEW

COVERAGE
Watch the game through CAA.TV, which will be broadcasted by Tribe Athletics 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 is the 15th all-time meeting between Elon and William & Mary. The Tribe leads the all-time series 12-2. Elon and William & Mary have already met this season on Jan. 20, as the William & Mary defeated Elon 80-73 inside Alumni Gym.
• Last season, both teams met three times. Most recently, Elon faced William & Mary for the second time in first three years as a member of the CAA in the conference tournament quarterfinals.
• During the regular season, both teams split the matchup with the home team winning each contest. Elon defeated William & Mary on Jan. 21, 2017, 71-62, inside Alumni Gym. The Tribe won the first matchup in Williamsburg, escaping with an 88-85 victory on Jan. 5, 2017. Prior to last season’s win on Jan. 21, Elon’s last win against the Tribe was during the maroon and gold’s inaugural season in the CAA. Elon toppled the Tribe 85-79 on Jan. 8, 2015 in Alumni Gym.

A LOOK AT ELON
• The Phoenix has a 13-10 record overall and owns a 5-5 mark in CAA action after snapping a three-game skid with an 83-76 win over Towson on Saturday at SECU Arena.
• Elon is currently in a 2-way tie for 3rd place in the CAA Standings with Towson and is currently 2 games out of 1st place.
• Tyler Seibring has been solid in his first 10 conference games, averaging 17.4 points and 7.3 rebounds. He is also shooting 53.3% from the floor and 46.8% from deep.
• Seibring and Thompson each scored their 1,000th career point on Jan. 7 in a win at Hofstra.
• Elon is scoring 74.7 ppg and allowing 73.9 ppg thus far through 23 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 15.9 assists per contest.
• The Phoenix is improving defensively, allowing teams to shoot 42.2% from the floor which ranks 3rd overall in the CAA. Elon’s 42.8% field goal percentage defense in CAA games ranks 1st in the league. Elon is also 2nd in the league in defensive rebounds, averaging 26.4 per game.
• Tyler Seibring is currently Elon’s leading scorer at 14.3 ppg, Seibring is also 11th in the league averaging a team-best 6.4 rpg, while Dainan Swoope is 4th in the CAA with 3.7 apg.
• Eberhardt is tied for the 2nd-best assist/turnover ratio in the CAA with a 2.2 ratio with 69 assists to 31 turnovers.
• 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 22 games this season. Seibring leads the way with 14.3 ppg, while Swoope is second averaging 13.0 ppg.
• Rounding out the top scorers are Brian Dawkins (12.3 ppg), Dmitri Thompson (11.7 ppg), and Steven Santa Ana (10.3 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 19 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 64 career points, just 36 away. Brian Dawkins follows with 892 career points and needs 108 to join the club.

COMING UP BIG IN LEAGUE PLAY
• After averaging 11.9 points and 5.8 rebounds during non-conference play, Tyler Seibring has increased his averages to 17.3 points and 7.4 rebounds in league games.
• Seibring is 2nd in the CAA with 29-made threes and is 3rd in three-point field goal percentage (46.8%).
• The Phoenix continues to improve defensively in league play, holding teams to 42.8% shooting from the field in CAA games, which ranks 1st in the league.

SWOOPE THERE IT IS
• Dainan Swoope has shown improvement on the scoring end his junior campaign, averaging 13.0 ppg this season in comparison to his 11.7 ppg last season. Swoope has scored in double figures 16 times thus far and has a team-high 6 games of 20+ points.
• Swoope is also 4th 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 four times this season for the Phoenix. Most recently, he chipped in 13 points on Thursday at Drexel.
• 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 6.0 points and is 2nd on the team with 3.0 assists per contest. He also has one of the highest shooting percentages on the team at 49.5%.

LET IT FLY
• The Phoenix is 2nd in the CAA and 12th in the NCAA with 10.8 three-pointers made per game.
• Elon’s 249 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 697 three-point attempts, which ranks 6th nationally.

380 AND COUNTING
• The Elon program has made at least one three-point field goal in 380 consecutive games (not including exhibition games). The matchup on Feb. 4, 2017 at College of Charleston marked the 350th consecutive 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.

SCOUTING WILLIAM & MARY
• The Tribe enters Thursday night’s contest at 14-7 overall and in a three-way tie for first at the top of the CAA standings with Northeastern and Charleston with a 7-3 mark. After beating the Phoenix on Jan. 20, William & Mary fell to Towson 96-82 on Thursday and battled UNCW to win a tight 84-81 contest in Wilmington on Saturday.
Justin Pierce enjoyed a standout week, averaging 25 points and 11.5 rebounds per game. He erupted for a career-high 27 points and 14 rebounds at Towson for his fifth double-double of the year. Pierce followed that up by scoring 16 of his team-high 23 in the second half of a win at UNCW.
• W&M has been in first place for 33 of the 34 days of CAA play after the program’s best CAA start at 5-0.
• Over the last four seasons, the Tribe is 44-8 (.846) at home, including a 7-2 mark this season. Over the last two years, the Green and Gold is averaging 91.8 points per game at home, while shooting 54.1 percent from the field and 45.3 percent from 3-point range with 11.1 3-pointers per game.
• With his nine assists at UNCW, senior David Cohn became W&M’s all-time leader in career assists.
• W&M leads the country in 3-point (44.2) percentage, while ranking second in free throw shooting (79.5) and 10th in field goal percentage (50.8). W&M is the only team in the country to rank among the top 20 in all three shooting categories. No team in NCAA history has shot 50 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range and 80 percent from the free throw line in the same season.
• Nathan Knight was named to the Lou Henson Award Mid-Season Watch list, which annually recognizes the nation’s top Division I mid-major player. He ranks sixth in the CAA at 18.5 points per game to go along with 7.8 rebounds.

UP NEXT
The Phoenix returns to Alumni Gym on Saturday, Feb. 3, to face the Delaware Blue Hens for the first time this season. Tip-off inside Alumni Gym is slated for 7 p.m.