# 2001–02 Hampton Pirates basketball team

The 2001–02 Hampton Pirates men's basketball team represented Hampton University during the 2001–02 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Pirates were members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and were coached by Steve Merfeld, his fifth and final year as head coach. The Pirates played home games at the Hampton Convocation Center.
Hampton finished the season with 26–7 record and an 17–1 MEAC record. The Pirates rolled through the MEAC regular season, finishing five games ahead of second place Delaware State. The team won the MEAC tournament for the second straight season to earn the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. Playing as No. 15 seed in the East region, Hampton was beaten by No. 2 seed Connecticut, 78–67, in the opening round.

## Previous season

Hampton finished the season with a 25–7 record and an 14–4 MEAC record. The season was highlighted by the Pirates winning their first ever game in the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, becoming the fourth 15-seed to beat a 2-seed in the tournament. Hampton defeated Iowa State before losing to Georgetown in the second round.

## Schedule and results

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| Nov 16, 2001* | | at No. 19 North Carolina | W 77–69 | 1–0 | Dean Smith Center (17,320) Chapel Hill, North Carolina |
| Nov 19, 2001* | | Central Florida | W 73–72 | 2–0 | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Nov 23, 2001* | | vs. Vanderbilt | L 85–100 | 2–1 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Nov 24, 2001* | | vs. Akron | W 67–59 | 3–1 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Nov 25, 2001* | | vs. Hawaii Pacific | W 83–76 | 4–1 | Neal S. Blaisdell Center Honolulu, Hawaii |
| Dec 1, 2001 | | at Morgan State | W 78–70 | 5–1 (1–0) | Talmadge L. Hill Field House Baltimore, Maryland |
| Dec 3, 2001 | | at Coppin State | W 81–69 | 6–1 (2–0) | Coppin Center Baltimore, Maryland |
| Dec 8, 2001 | | Norfolk State | W 85–57 | 7–1 (3–0) | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Dec 18, 2001* | | at Old Dominion | W 84–77 | 8–1 | ODU Fieldhouse Norfolk, Virginia |
| Dec 21, 2001* | | at Bradley | L 84–87 $^{2OT}$ | 8–2 | Carver Arena Peoria, Illinois |
| Dec 23, 2001* | | at Western Illinois | L 74–77 | 8–3 | Western Hall Macomb, Illinois |
| Dec 29, 2001* | | at Montana State | L 66–80 | 8–4 | Worthington Arena Havre, Montana |
| Dec 30, 2001* | | vs. Troy | L 91–100 $^{OT}$ | 8–5 | Worthington Arena Havre, Montana |
| Jan 5, 2002 | | Maryland-Eastern Shore | W 86–71 | 9–5 (4–0) | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Jan 12, 2002 | | at South Carolina State | W 81–75 | 10–5 (5–0) | SHM Memorial Center Orangeburg, South Carolina |
| Jan 14, 2002 | | at North Carolina A&T | W 82–68 | 11–5 (6–0) | Corbett Sports Center Greensboro, North Carolina |
| Jan 19, 2002 | | Delaware State | W 58–55 | 12–5 (7–0) | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Jan 21, 2002 | | Howard | W 79–58 | 13–5 (8–0) | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Jan 25, 2002 | | at Bethune-Cookman | W 85–69 | 14–5 (9–0) | Moore Gymnasium Daytona Beach, Florida |
| Jan 28, 2002 | | Florida A&M | W 97–65 | 15–5 (10–0) | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Feb 2, 2002 | | Morgan State | W 89–74 | 16–5 (11–0) | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Feb 4, 2002 | | Coppin State | W 78–51 | 17–5 (12–0) | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Feb 6, 2002* | | at William & Mary | W 64–59 | 18–5 | William & Mary Hall Williamsburg, Virginia |
| Feb 9, 2002 | | at Maryland-Eastern Shore | W 81–63 | 19–5 (13–0) | Hytche Athletic Center Princess Anne, Maryland |
| Feb 16, 2002 | | South Carolina State | W 87–73 | 20–5 (14–0) | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Feb 18, 2002 | | North Carolina A&T | W 72–61 | 21–5 (15–0) | Hampton Convocation Center Hampton, Virginia |
| Feb 21, 2002 | | at Delaware State | W 63–58 | 22–5 (16–0) | Memorial Hall Dover, Delaware |
| Feb 25, 2002 | | at Howard | L 81–82 | 22–6 (16–1) | Burr Gymnasium Washington, D.C. |
| Mar 2, 2002 | | at Norfolk State | W 92–89 $^{OT}$ | 23–6 (17–1) | Echols Memorial Hall Norfolk, Virginia |
| MEAC tournament ||||||
| Mar 6, 2002* | | vs. Morgan State Quarterfinals | W 93–70 | 24–6 | Arthur Ashe Athletic Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Mar 8, 2002* | | vs. South Carolina State Semifinals | W 80–70 | 25–6 | Arthur Ashe Athletic Center Richmond, Virginia |
| Mar 9, 2002* | | vs. Howard Championship game | W 80–62 | 26–6 | Arthur Ashe Athletic Center Richmond, Virginia |
| NCAA tournament ||||||
| Mar 15, 2002* | (15 E) | vs. (2 E) No. 10 Connecticut First round | L 67–78 | 26–7 | Verizon Center Washington, D.C. |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time. ||||||

## Awards and honors

* Tommy Adams – MEAC Player of the Year