Men's Basketball | 2/8/2023 11:59:00 AM

TV: The game will air live on FloHoops with Spencer Turkin on the play-by-play and Walter Johnson commentating as the analyst.  
RADIO: Ryan Stone will handle the play-by-play. 

NORTH CAROLINA A&T AGGIES STORYLINES 

• The Aggies had some momentum as January concluded. But an upset loss to Monmouth at home on Jan. 28 and a blowout loss at UNC Wilmington has A&T on a two-game losing streak heading into the Triad rivalry game against the Elon Phoenix.
• The two teams played for the first time since 2001 when they met at Elon earlier this season. A&T rallied for an 80-71 win at the Schar Center. 
• The last time the two teams played, the Aggies were on a two-game losing streak after losses to College of Charleston and UNCW.
• Marcus Watson broke open a 67-67 tie with four minutes remaining by hitting a 3-pointer and earning a steal and dunk to give the Aggies a 72-67 lead to propel A&T to the win. Watson scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half. 
• Duncan Powell added 14 points and nine rebounds, and Kam Woods had 13 points and five assists. 
• A&T is coming off an 87-63 loss to UNCW on Thursday as the Seahawks completed the regular season sweep of the Aggies. The Aggies were 3-for-18 from 3-point range against the Seahawks. It was the Aggies worse loss in conference play this season. 
• The Aggies are 10-for-47 (.213) from 3-point range in the last two games. The Aggies are still third in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) in 3-pointers made per game (8.2). 
• The Aggies are in much need of a win as the CAA tournament approaches. As January ended, the Aggies were 1 ½ games out of the fourth spot in the conference standings, which would assure them a double bye at the tournament.
• The Aggies are now 2 ½ games behind fourth-place Towson and have a 79-67 loss to the Tigers at home. They still have one game remaining against Towson on the road. The Aggies are in sixth place in the league with six games remaining. 
• A&T should be in good shape once sophomore guard Kam Woods finds his rhythm again. Woods averaged 21.2 points per game against CAA opponents at one point in the season. But he has failed to score in double figures in his last two games and is 2-for-21 from 3-point range in his previous three outings. He still leads the Aggies in scoring at 17.8 points per game and ranks third in the conference in scoring. Woods is seventh in the league in assist/turnover ratio. 
• A&T's loss to UNCW ended A&T's four-game CAA road winning streak, dropping to 4-2 on the season. The Aggies return home tonight, where they are 2-4 at home against CAA foes. 
• A&T has struggled to put the ball in the basket at home, shooting just 40.1 percent from the floor in home CAA games. A&T averages 66.7 points per game at home as opposed to 78.2 points per game on the road while shooting 50.3 percent. 
• The odd thing is that the Aggies shoot 70.1 percent from the line at home in CAA play but only 59.3 percent on the road. 
• Phillip Shumpert is the Aggies head coach on an interim basis. He took over the program for Will Jones in August. He missed three games with COVID but returned to earn the big win over UNCG.
• Shumpert has been a significant part in helping the Aggies recruit some of their talent. 
• Shumpert took over on an interim basis in August. Shumpert has coached on many levels, including high school, Division II, junior college and Division I, and has head coaching experience on the junior college level for five years. 

 SCOUTING THE ELON PHOENIX 

•     Elon comes into the game on fire. The Phoenix lost its first eight conference games and started the season 2-16. 
• But the Phoenix has won three straight, including wins over fifth-place Drexel and road wins over Stony Brook and Northeastern. 
• Elon had the Aggies on the ropes early in their first meeting, leading by 10 late in the first half before Duncan Powell hit a buzzer-beating three to send the Aggies into the locker room with lots of momentum. 
• Elon is shooting 49.7 percent from the floor, 37.3 percent from 3-point range and 82.1 percent (23-for-28) from the line in its last three games. The Phoenix has also dished out 46 assists as opposed to 28 turnovers in that span, and Elon has defeated its last three opponents by an averaging margin of 9.7 points. 
• Jerald Butler-Gillens has led the way during Elon's three-game winning streak, averaging 17.0 points on 20-for-38 shooting from the floor (.526) and 8-for-15 shooting (.533) from 3-point range. 
• Max Mackinnon has also been lethal, averaging 16.3 points, 5.3 assists and 5.0 rebounds over his last three ballgames. He is 20-for-33 (.606) from the floor during the win streak. 
• Elon's leading scorer is Sean Holloran, at 12.8 points per game. He is also the Phoenix's leading assist-man at 4.2 per game. Holloran had 10 points and five assists on 3-for-9 shooting in the first meeting with A&T. 
• Five Phoenix scored in double figures, led by Torrence Watson, who finished with 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds on 5-for-8 shooting from the field and 2-for-3 shooting from three. 
• Billy Taylor leads the Phoenix in his first season. He comes to Elon after spending three seasons as an assistant at the University of Iowa. 
• During his time at Iowa, the Hawkeyes had two-time national player of the year Luke Garza along with Keegan Murray, a finalist for the Wooden Award and Naismith Trophy. 
• Taylor has made head coaching stops at Lehigh, Ball State and Belmont Abbey. A two-time Patriot League coach of the year, Taylor led Lehigh to the NCAA tournament in 2004. He has a 219-229 (.489) career record. 

 THE SERIES                 

• The Aggies and the Phoenix will meet for the 15th time, after renewing their earlier this season after 21 years without playing each other. 
• The last time the Phoenix played in Corbett was on Dec. 8, 2000, a 69-57 A&T win. 
• The Aggies lead the series 10-4. They are 7-0 at home against the Phoenix.