NORFOLK, Va. -- The five-time Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) champion Hampton women’s basketball team will square off against Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament at Carmichael Arena on Sunday in Chapel Hill, N.C. at 12:30 p.m.
The game will be televised live on ESPN2 and ESPN3.
“We’re real happy (with a 12 seed). We’re elated,” Hampton head coach David Six said. “I thought we were a 12, and it’s nice to the NCAA did the right thing.”
The Lady Pirates (28-4) earned the No. 12-seed in the Stanford Region and received the highest ever seed from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) on the women’s side. The Spartans (22-9) are the No. 5 seed after winning the Big Ten regular season title for the fourth straight year. Also in the Stanford bracket in will be No. 4-seed North Carolina (24-9) and No. 13-seed UT-Martin (24-7).
Hampton has won 18 straight games, tied for the 10th-longest winning streak in the nation, and is coming off Saturday’s 50-47 win over Coppin State in the MEAC Tournament championship game. The Lady Pirates completed their second consecutive undefeated conference record, and have won 49 straight MEAC games, including tournament play.
The Lady Pirates are second in defensive field-goal percentage (32.8), 12th in scoring defense (56.0) and 14th in scoring margin (15.1) in the nation.
Michigan State has compiled a record of 16-13 in its previous NCAA Tournament appearances, including a 10-2 record in the first round. MSU and Iowa are the only two Big Ten schools to have earned a bid to each of the last six NCAA Tournaments.
It is the first time that MSU has appeared in six-straight NCAA Tournaments.
The Spartans won their fourth Big Ten regular-season title this season, tying Penn State at 13-3 in the conference standings. MSU is 22-9 overall on the season, and is ranked No. 20 in the Associated Press poll and 24th in the USA Today coaches poll.
This will be the first meeting between Michigan State and Hampton.
For the complete story, visit www.hamptonpirates.com