Neither Hampton or Delaware State were supposed to be playing for a spot in the NCAA Tournament in the MEAC championship game on Saturday afternoon. Delaware State pulled off a huge upset in the semifinals against top-seeded N.C. Central to reach the title game, while Hampton beat No. 2 seed Norfolk State and was trying to reach the Big Dance as the rare team to do so under .500.
Hampton wins 2015 MEAC basketball tournament, heads to the NCAA Tournament below .500
The biggest underdog in the NCAA Tournament might be the Hampton Pirates.
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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The teams went back and forth for the first half, but Hampton started to break things open in the second half. Behind big games from three junior guards, the Pirates will be going dancing thanks to a 82-61 victory over Delaware State.
It’s the cap to a remarkable run through the conference tournament for Hampton, who started as a No. 6 seed. The win moves the Pirates to 16-17 on the season and makes them the 21st team ever to reach the NCAA Tournament with a record before .500.
Reginald Johnson led the Pirates with 20 points in the win, while Brian Darden and Deron Powers added 20 points and 16 points, respectively.
Delaware State was led by 20 points from Amere May in the loss.
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