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Record: 16-17 (8-8 MEAC)
Region — Seed: No. 16 in the Midwest
RPI: 268
BPI: 296
Conference: MEAC
How They Qualified: MEAC Tournament champs
It’s not often you see a team finish below .500 in the regular season and make an improbable run in its respective conference tournament, winning it to make it to the Big Dance. However, that’s exactly what happened with the Hampton Pirates who finished just 16-17 in the regular season.
Junior forward Dwight Meikle is one of the reasons for the unlikely run and his team-leading point and rebound totals prove that he is one of the most improved players in the entire MEAC.
What You Need to Know:
Leading Scorer: Dwight Meikle (13.0 ppg)
Leading Rebounder: Dwight Meikle (7.5 rpg)
Leading Passer: Deron Powers (3.8 apg)
Bad Losses: at Appalachian State, vs. North Carolina A&T, at Savannah State, at South Carolina State
Good Wins: none
Hampton wasn’t projected to even have a chance to make it to the tourney, but winning four consecutive MEAC Tournament games lifted the conference’s sixth-best team in the regular season to its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance in school history.
Although this team ranks just 195th in the nation in points per game, it still has four guys who carry the team by averaging over 10 points per contest. While Meikle is the star of this team, junior guard Deron Powers is probably the most versatile player on the team.
The Pirates don’t have the strongest resume, but anything can happen in this crazy month we call March.
Connor Muldowney is a columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter @Connormuldowney, “Like” him on Facebook or add him to your network on Google. You can also reach him at [email protected].
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