ELON, N.C. – Elon University men’s basketball returns home for the first time in two weeks as the Phoenix hosts the Delaware Blue Hens on Saturday, Feb. 3, inside Alumni Gym. It will be the first meeting of the season between Elon and Delaware.
COVERAGE
Watch the Phoenix in action against the Blue Hens on Phoenix All-Access as Matt Krause and Mason Stalph will have the call. 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.
FREE PIZZA FEBRUARY
Every men’s and women’s basketball home game in Alumni Gym this month is part of Free Pizza February! Get to the game early as Pizza will be provided to all Elon University students attending the games.
THE SERIES
• Saturday will be the eighth all-time meeting between the Phoenix and the Blue Hens and the seventh time the sides have met since Elon joined the CAA in 2014-15. Elon leads the all-time series 6-1, and 3-0 inside Alumni Gym.
• Delaware earned its first victory of the series last season on Feb. 9, 2017, in Newark, Del. The Blue Hens came out victorious, 76-74, after overtime. The Phoenix answered with an 81-59 win on Feb. 25, 2017 on Senior Day in Alumni Gym.
• Prior to last season, Elon had won the first five consecutive meetings. Both teams have faced each other five 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.
A LOOK AT ELON
• The Phoenix has a 13-11 record overall and owns a 5-6 mark in CAA action after falling to William & Mary 99-92 on Thursday night. Elon battled back after trailing by 20 points with 10 minutes remaining to cut the Tribe’s lead to 3 points.
• Elon is currently 4th in the CAA Standings, just three games out of first, two out of second and a game away from 3rd.
• Tyler Seibring has been solid in his first 11 conference games, averaging 18.4 points and 7.4 rebounds. He is also shooting 54.7% from the floor and 50% from deep.
• Seibring and Thompson each scored their 1,000th career point on Jan. 7 in a win at Hofstra. Dainan Swoope is now just 11 points away from becoming the 42nd player in program history to reach 1,000 points.
• Elon is scoring 75.4 ppg and allowing 75.0 ppg thus far through 24 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 10.9 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 42.8% from the floor which ranks 3rd overall in the CAA. Elon’s 44.1% field goal percentage defense in CAA games ranks 2nd in the league. Elon is also 1st in the league in defensive rebounds, averaging 28.6 per game.
• Tyler Seibring is currently Elon’s leading scorer at 14.9 ppg, Seibring is also 11th in the league averaging a team-best 6.5 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 2.3 ratio with 71 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 24 games this season. Seibring leads the way with 14.9 ppg, while Swoope is second averaging 13.5 ppg.
• Rounding out the top five scorers are Brian Dawkins (12.1 ppg), Dmitri Thompson (12.0 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 20 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 989 career points, just 11 away. Brian Dawkins follows with 899 career points and needs 101 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 18.4 points, which ranks 6th in the CAA, and 7.4 rebounds in league games.
• Seibring is 2nd in the CAA with 33-made three-pointers and leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (50%) in CAA contests.
• The Phoenix continues to improve defensively in league play, holding teams to 44.1% shooting from the field in CAA games, which ranks 2nd in the league.
SWOOPE THERE IT IS
• Dainan Swoope has shown improvement on the scoring end his junior campaign, averaging 13.5 ppg this season in comparison to his 11.7 ppg last season. Swoope has scored in double figures 17 times thus far and has a team-high 7 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. The last time he scored in double figures was when he chipped in 13 points on Jan. 25 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 5.7 points and is 2nd on the team with 3.2 assists per contest. He also has one of the highest shooting percentages on the team at 48.3%.
LET IT FLY
• The Phoenix is 2nd in the CAA and 11th in the NCAA with 10.9 three-pointers made per game.
• Elon’s 261 total three-pointers this season ranks 1st in the CAA and 6th in the NCAA.
• The maroon and gold also ranks first in the league with 724 three-point attempts, which ranks 6th nationally.
381 AND COUNTING
• The Elon program has made at least one three-point field goal in 381 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 three sellouts 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 DELAWARE
• Delaware is looking to snap a five-game losing skid as the Blue Hens head to the state of North Carolina for the third time this season to face Elon.
• The Blue Hens dropped their third consecutive home game on Thursday with a narrow 75-71 loss to Towson. Delaware has lost its last three games by a combined 17 points.
• Ryan Allen led UD with a game-high 22 points against Towson, and knocked down five three-pointers for the second time in three games. Allen has reached double figures in eight consecutive games.
• Allen has made a three-pointer during all 21 games of his career, tied for the fourth longest streak in Delaware history. With 59 triples made this season, he is nine away from the UD freshman record of 68 held by Kyle Anderson in 2011-12.
• Anthony Mosley added 21 points vs. the Tigers, and became the 40th player in Blue Hen history to surpass the 900-point total. Mosley has now scored 906 points for his career.
• Skye Johnson made his first start of the season, tying his season-high with 10 points and grabbing a career-best nine rebounds in a career-high 28 minutes of action.
• During the last four games, Delaware is allowing 26.0 points on 31.6 percent shooting in the first half, but is giving up 43.3 points on 53.6 percent shooting in the second half.
UP NEXT
• Elon will be back at home for both conference games next week, beginning with Hofstra on Thursday, Feb. 8, followed by James Madison on Saturday, Feb. 10, as the Phoenix celebrates Senior Day. Both games inside Alumni Gym will tip off at 7 p.m.