In late-January, the Hampton basketball team lost six consecutive games and looked like a team with no shot of doing much once March arrived
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But the Pirates have turned things around dramatically now that March is here and their efforts culminated in a resounding victory in the MEAC tournament championship game on Saturday.
Reginald Johnson and Brian Darden each scored 20 points to lead Hampton to an 82-61 victory over Delaware State, which ended North Carolina Central’s 36-game conference winning streak in a semifinal win. Hampton will enter the NCAA tournament next week with a sub-.500 record at 16-17.
The MEAC has a history of producing NCAA tournament upsets.
Coppin State beat South Carolina in 1997, Hampton beat Iowa State in 2001 and Norfolk State beat Missouri in 2012. All three of those teams were No. 15 seeds upsetting No. 2 seeds. It remains to be seen if Hampton is seeded better than 16th considering its sub-.500 record.
Hampton lost both of its regular season games against Delaware State but the Pirates forced the Hornets into 16 turnovers. Delaware State also shot only 53 percent at the free throw line.
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[Kyle Ringo is the assistant editor of The Dagger on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at kyle.ringo@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo
from Yahoo Sports http://ift.tt/1AD5qzP
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