HAMPTON, Va. (HamptonPirates.com) - The Big South Conference announced its 2021-22 Men’s Basketball slate on Wednesday afternoon as Hampton will have 16 conference games and will see divisional action for the first time in their Big South tenure.
The North Division features Campbell, Hampton, High Point, Longwood, new member North Carolina A&T and Radford, while the South Division is comprised of Charleston Southern, Gardner-Webb, Presbyterian, UNC Asheville, USC Upstate and Winthrop. The final five games of the regular-season will be intra-division match-ups.
“A very strong Big South Conference slate picked up another notch with N.C. A&T joining the league,” said Hampton head coach Buck Joyner. “We will have to be ready to go every time we step on the floor as there will be no easy nights in league action.”
Hampton opens up conference play on January 5 hosting Longwood before a two-game swing in North Carolina taking on Gardner-Webb and the first meeting with N.C. A&T. A home game with Presbyterian on Jan. 15 will be followed by a run of three out of four on the road against Radford (Jan. 19), Campbell (Jan. 26) and Charleston Southern (Jan. 29) with a home game against High Point on Jan. 22.
February will see the Pirates at home for five games, with four of those coming in the first 16 days. USC Upstate (Feb. 2) and Winthrop (Feb. 5) come to the HU Convocation Center on the first week before a trip to UNC Asheville (Feb. 9). Radford (Feb. 12) and N.C. A&T (Feb. 16) will close out that stretch before a road game at Longwood on Feb. 19. The last week of the regular season will have Hampton hosting Campbell on Feb. 23 and at High Point on Feb. 26.
Six Thursday national television appearances on ESPNU -- Jan. 13, Jan. 27, Feb. 3, Feb. 10, Feb. 17 and Feb. 24 -- will be Wildcard selections 14-21 days in advance and chosen from the slate of Wednesday games scheduled the day before the respective broadcast date.
The season culminates with the 2022 Hercules Tires Big South Men’s Basketball Championship, which will be held at Bojangles Coliseum in Charlotte, N.C., from March 2-6. Four first round games will be Wednesday, March 2, followed by four quarterfinal contests on Friday, March 4. The semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, March 5, with the Championship game on Sunday, March 6.
The complete non-conference schedule will be announced at a later date.
