Notre Dame Basketball: Who are the Hampton Pirates?

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish will take on the Hampton Pirates in the first round of the NIT.

As we all found out on Sunday night, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men’s basketball team will continue its season this Tuesday night against the Hampton Pirates in the NIT. The Irish are a 1-seed and will host the 8th-seeded Pirates at 9 pm EST.

Here is a quick overview of the 2017-2018 Hampton Pirates:

Head Coach: Edward Joyner Jr.

Joyner has taken the Pirates to three NCAA Tournaments, two NITs and 2 CBI tournaments since he took over the program in 2009. He has four MEAC Conference regualr season championships and two conference tournament championships to his name. His record at Hampton is 153-139.

Statistical Leaders

Points: Jermaine Marrow, 18.7 ppg

Rebounds: Greg Heckstall, 5.9 rpg

Assists: Jermaine Marrow, 5.4 apg

Blocks: Trevond Barnes, 1.3 bpg

More from Notre Dame Fighting Irish

What should scare the Irish?

Morrow. He’s a scoring point-guard with a quick step to the basket and a capable free-throw shooter. He’ll be a handful to defend no matter who draws the assignment.

Notre Dame also needs to account for Akim Mitchell, Hampton’s best three-point shooter. When he’s on, so are the Pirates.

Hampton won’t be intimidated by the Irish or the atmosphere. They’ve face two of this year’s NCAA Tournament 1-seeds — Xavier and Virginia — on the road.

Next: Irish are a 1-Seed in the NIT

Why shouldn’t Notre Dame be worried?

Hampton is smaller and not a great shooting team. As long as the Irish can contest most shocks, it should be a long night for the Pirates. Hampton’s best win was over North Carolina Central — the same team that just upset the Pirates in the MEAC Tournament Championship game.

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