Elon MBB Travels to Newark to Face Delaware on Saturday

NEWARK, Del. – Elon University men’s basketball closes out its first road swing in Colonial Athletic Association play on Saturday, Jan. 5, with a trip to Delaware to face the Blue Hens. The 11th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and the Blue Hens will tip-off at 7 p.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center.

GAME NOTES (PDF) | PREVIEW

COVERAGE
You can watch the game live on CAA.TV, which will be produced by Delaware. Listen to the coverage on the Elon IMG Sports Network through TuneIn, elonphoenix.com/live, or on CAA.tv and the CAA.tv app. The Phoenix All-Access and Elon IMG Sports Network coverage will be provided by Taylor Durham and Brian Morris starting with the pregame show 6:30 p.m.

THURSDAY’S GAME IS…
• The 11th meeting all-time between the Elon Phoenix and the Delaware Blue Hens.
• The 2,711th game in Elon’s program history.

AN ELON WIN WOULD…
• Be the 1,407th win in program history and Elon’s 259th Division I win.
• Be the 146th win for Elon head men’s basketball coach Matt Matheny.

THE MATCHUP
• Saturday will be the 11th all-time meeting between the Phoenix and the Blue Hens.
• Elon leads the all-time series 7-3, but Delaware has won the last two matchups.
• In the last meeting, Delaware defeated Elon 86-79 at the 2018 CAA Men’s Basketball Championships on March 3, 2018.
• The teams split the regular season series in 2017-18. Both Elon and Delaware have split in the regular season for the past two seasons.
• The Phoenix won five straight of the previous meetings before the 2016-17 season. Both teams have faced each other nine times during Elon’s Division I era since 1999. The only time the teams met prior to Elon’s Division I era was the first all-time meeting.
• Elon’s first-ever matchup against Blue Hens came on Feb. 8, 1934 as Elon College defeated Delaware 45-23 in Newark.

SCOUTING DELAWARE
• Delaware (10-6, 2-1 CAA) has won two straight conference games after defeating William & Mary 58-56 on Thursday night. The Blue Hens bounced back during the opening weekend after losing to Hofstra on Dec. 28 with a two-overtime victory over CAA preseason favorite Northeatern on Dec. 30.
• The Blue Hens had lost three straight games and four of its last five prior to the winning streak.
• Delaware has four scoring in double figures, led by Eric Carter who leads the team in scoring (18.2) and rebounding (10.2) this season. Each stat ranks 5th and 2nd in the league this season, respectively. Additionally, Ithiel Horton (13.8 ppg), Ryan Allen (12.6 ppg) and Kevin Anderson (11.0) are averaging double figures in the scoring column this season.
• This season, Delaware has been the best in the league in two categories ranking 1st field goal percentage defense (.426) and defensive rebounds per game (26.8).
• During non-conference play, the Blue Hens posted an 8-5 record, which included wins against St. Peter’s, Chestnut Hill, Cornell, Wilmington (Del.), Louisiana Tech, Maryland Eastern Shore, Columbia and Saint Francis (Pa.).

ABOUT ELON
• The Phoenix has a 5-11 record overall and is 1-2 in CAA action in 2018-19 following its 79-65 loss to Drexel on Thursday night.
• Elon has played nine times at home this season, including seven times in non-conference games.
• Elon has two players scoring in double figures. Steven Santa Ana is Elon’s leading scorer and rebounder at 16.3 points and 6.3 boards per game. Tyler Seibring is tallying 15.4 points.
• The Phoenix ranks first in the CAA in three-pointers made with (10.3) per game, which also ranks 13th in the nation. Elon’s 167 total three-pointers this season ranks 10th nationally.
• Santa Ana is currently 7th in the league in scoring (16.3), while Seibring ranks 12th (15.4).
• Elon and gold returns 11 total players and three of its five starters from a year ago. One of its three returning starters, Dainan Swoope, is out for the season after having season-ending foot surgery.
• The Phoenix returns four of its top six scorers, including its 2017-18 leading scorer and rebounder in Seibring (15.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg).
• The program’s senior class is made up of five players (Seibring, Swoope, Santa Ana, Eberhardt and Karolis Kundrotas). Heading into the season, the five players had combined to play in a total of 437 games and make 209 starts.
• Elon made four new additions to the squad for 2018-19 in first-year players Chuck Hannah, Andy Pack, Federico Poser and Kris Wooten.
• The Phoenix has been predicted to finish eighth in the league as the CAA released its preseason men’s basketball poll on Oct. 17, during the conference’s digital media day. Tyler Seibring collected preseason All-CAA honors as he was named to the second team.

WOOTEN TABBED CAA ROOKIE OF THE WEEK
• Wooten averaged 11.5 points while shooting 60 percent from the floor (9-15) and 55.6 percent from three-point range (5-9) as Elon split a pair of road games Nov. 18-22 during the final week of the Phoenix’s non-conference slate.
• He is Elon’s first player to earn a weekly accolade from the conference this season. He is also Elon’s first CAA Rookie of the Week selection since Tyler Seibring earned the honor for the third time his freshman campaign on Jan. 18, 2016.

NEARING ELON HISTORY
• Senior forward Tyler Seibring is closing in on history that no player in program history at the NCAA Division I level has ever done.
• He is 65 points (Career Total: 1,514) and 68 rebounds (Career Total: 667) away from entering the top-10 in program history for each category.
• Seibring would be the first player in Elon’s NCAA Division I era (since 1999) to achieve that feat.

SEIBRING NAMED SENIOR CLASS AWARD CANDIDATE
• Tyler Seibring has been named one of the 30 NCAA Division men’s basketball candidates for the 2018-18 Senior CLASS Award®
• The Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
• Seibring carries a 3.91 grade-point average as a double major in English and Economics.
• The Senior CLASS Award winner will be announced during the 2019 NCAA Men’s Final Four® this spring.

JOINING THE 1,000-POINT CLUB
• Senior guard Steven Santa Ana became the 43rd player in program history to reach 1,000-career points against Central Penn on Nov. 27.
• Elon currently has three 1,000-point scorers on the team in Tyler Seibring, Dainan Swoope and Steven Santa Ana. Swoope and Seibring each joined the 1,000-point club as juniors.
• Seibring was the first to join, becoming the 40th player overall and the 11th junior to reach the mark. Dainan Swoope became the 42nd player overall, the 12th junior.

RECORD-SETTING PERFORMANCES
• The Phoenix have twice set a program record with 19 three-pointers made in a game this season.
• Elon set the record of 19 triples in its 98-71 victory over Milligan College on Nov. 15, 2018, the program’s first-ever win in Schar Center.
• The team then matched the mark on Nov. 27, 2018 inside Schar Center during its 92-59 win over Central Penn.

SCHAR CENTER
• Elon University men’s basketball will play its games inside its new facility, Schar Center, this season after calling Alumni Gym its home since since 1950.
• Schar Center officially opened its doors in July of 2018 and was dedicated on October, 19, 2018. The 161,000-square-foot convocation center has a current capacity of 5,100-seats.
• Not only does it serve as the home for Phoenix basketball and volleyball programs, but it also serves as an event venue that will provide a large gathering space for a wide variety of major campus events such as convocations and concerts.
• The facility is named for Dwight and Martha Schar, of Palm Beach, Fla., parents of Stuart Schar ’16 and Spencer Schar ’19.
• Among Elon’s most generous donors for the project, the Schars have contributed $13 million to the university to provide lead funding for the convocation center and the expanded School of Communications facilities, which features Dwight C. Schar Hall as the centerpiece.

HOW 2018-19 BEGAN
• Elon’s 110th season of basketball opened with a marquee matchup as the Phoenix hosted the No. 8-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels on ESPNU in the program’s first regular season basketball game inside Schar Center on Friday, Nov. 9.
• Prior to that contest, the Phoenix opened the 2018-19 season on Nov. 6 on the road at Manhattan. Elon then competed in the Tiger Thanksgiving Classic, Nov. 22-24, at Pacific University on Thanksgiving week.
• During its non-conference slate, the Phoenix scheduled a total of seven home contests, which have included North Carolina, Boston University, No. 25 Furman, UNCG and Canisius. The Phoenix then concluded non-conference action on the road at Kennesaw State and UMKC.

UP NEXT

The Phoenix returns to Schar Center next week to host two teams predicted to finish in the top-three of CAA play this season. Elon will first host CAA preseason favorite Northeastern on Thursday, Jan. 10 at 7 p.m., followed by Hofstra on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 7 p.m.