ELON -3.5
All the players are healthy, they should roll Citadel.
Some encouraging developments were included with Elon’s 72-57 defeat of Georgia Southern last weekend to close the regular season.
Spradlin, who ranks second on the Phoenix in scoring behind Long, and Birdette, the team’s third starter in the backcourt, rebounded from injuries with important contributions.
Spradlin scored 16 points and logged 31 minutes of action after sore back issues limited him to just seven combined points and 29 total minutes during the preceding two games.
Birdette, coming off a left-knee injury, added six points and supplied what Matheny said were stretches of his best defense of the season.
Tip-in: Since joining the league more than seven years ago, Elon has compiled a 6-1 record in its first game of the Southern Conference Tournament.