COACH: Ed Joyner Jr., two years at Hampton, first year in NCAA tournament.
HOW THEY GOT IN: Automatic bid (MEAC tournament champion).
GO-TO GUYS: The perimeter duo of Darrion Pellum and Kwame Morgan II has carried Hampton. Pellum, who began his college career at Virginia Tech but never played a minute for the Hokies, has failed to score in double digits just twice this season. Morgan led Hampton and the MEAC in 3-pointers made per game, and has a flair for the dramatic; he hit a buzzer-beating trey to beat Colorado State back in December. Neither is shy about shooting. Between them, they've taken 916 shots from the floor heading into the NCAA Tournament.
X FACTOR: Brandon Tunnell flew under the radar much of the season, but came up big in Hampton's victory over Morgan State in the championship game of the MEAC tournament. Tunnell notched 20 points in a 60-55 victory over the defending tourney champions, his best scoring performance of the season. Tunnell actually pondered transferring two seasons ago but Joyner -- then a Hampton assistant -- helped convince him to stay. Tunnell is more of a distributor than a scorer, typically. He has 142 assists, a team high, entering the tournament.
STRENGTHS: Defense is the calling card of the Pirates, who led the MEAC in points allowed, field-goal percentage allowed, and 3-point field goal percentage defense. Hampton has depth, balance and experience; the Pirates brought back eight players who averaged 10 or more minutes per game last season. Hampton has three players averaging double figures in scoring, and five who contribute six or more points per game.
WEAKNESSES: Playing a power team from one of the major conferences in the NCAA Tournament could be a shock to the system for the Pirates. Hampton played only one opponent from one of the "Big Six" and that was a Wake Forest team that finished dead last in the ACC. Poor shooting chased Hampton through its five losses in conference play. The Pirates shot 36 percent or worse from the field in four of those defeats.
