Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved WAVY News 10

Copyright by WAVY - All rights reserved WAVY News 10

WAVY Sports - HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) -- When Hampton University planned its viewing party for the NCAA Tournament Selection Show last year, the Pirates waited for about all of a minute before they found out they'd face Manhattan for a shot at eventual Final Four squad Kentucky.

No build-up. No suspense. The viewing party started and wrapped up before you could say, "bracket-buster."

This time around, the Pirates (21-10) had to wait for more than an hour before they found out they'd earned a 16-seed and would face a foe from Charlottesville, the one-seed University of Virginia, in Raleigh, North Carolina. "We're happy that we're here celebrating and having a chance to see our name pop up on TV, now we got to go prepare and see what we can do to try to extend it," said Ed Joyner, who's team won automatic bid to the dance with a second straight MEAC Tournament championship.

It goes without saying that task ahead of Hampton is a tall one, first and foremost, considering a 16-seed has never upset a 1-seed in the "Big Dance." But Reginald Johnson was actually relieved.

"I feel like out of all the number one seeds, they're the least athletic," said the senior guard, who finished second overall in the MEAC averaging 18.7 points a game. The Pirates drew the Cavaliers instead of North Carolina, Kansas or Oregon, who Johnson feels possess more size and length than what they'll see from UVA. "That's kind of how we got killed against Kentucky last year because of the height.

"Virginia really doesn't have that. They're really solid players, and I feel like we can match that and come out with a win."

Certainly bold words, though the Pirates have a pedigree for upsets. HU upset 2-seed Iowa State in the 2001 NCAA Tournament.

UVA and Hampton is set to tip off around 3:00 p.m. on today, and the winner will move on to face either Texas Tech or Butler.