Game Notes

TAMPA, Fla. – The Hampton University men's basketball team, riding a two-game winning streak, will keep to the road this Wednesday for a game against the University of South Florida on Wednesday at 7 p.m. in Sun Arena.

After opening the season with five straight losses, the Pirates (2-5) have won back-to-back games. Hampton took two of three games over the weekend at the World Vision Basketball Challenge, beating Wyoming 78-67 on Saturday before squeaking past Monmouth 59-56 on Sunday. Senior Vincent Simpson (Philadelphia, Pa.) tied his career high with 34 points in Saturday's win over Wyoming.

Hampton has never faced South Florida, which comes into Wednesday's contest on a three-game winning streak and sporting a 6-1 record. The Bulls beat Florida Atlantic 78-58 on Friday behind the strength of 27 points from sophomore forward/center Augustus Gilchrist.

The Bulls went 9-22 last season, finishing with a 4-14 mark in Big East play. South Florida was picked to finish 14th in the conference this year, and junior guard Dominique Jones was named Preseason Second Team All-Big East, a year after he earned conference Honorable Mention accolades. Jones, a two-time all-conference honorable mention selectee, averaged 18.1 points and 5.6 rebounds a game to lead the Bulls in 2008-09.

Gilchrist is leading the Bulls in scoring and rebounding so far this season with 20.1 points a game and 7.4 boards a night; Gilchrist has led the team in scoring in five of its first seven contests this year. Jones is second on the team in scoring with an average of 16.9 a contest, while junior forward/center Jarrod Famous is the third Bull to average double figures in scoring, pouring in 10.9 points a night.

The Bulls are averaging 70.3 points a game on offense, while only giving up 59.3 points a night on defense. South Florida is also out-rebounding its opponents this season, 253-236.

Though the Pirates have never played South Florida, this will be the program's fourth-ever match-up against a team from the Big East. Hampton is 0-3 all-time against Big East teams; the Pirates are 0-1 all-time against Connecticut, 0-1 against Georgetown and 0-1 against Marquette.

Hampton last faced a Big East team on March 15, 2002, when the Pirates fell 78-67 to Connecticut in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Hampton also faced Georgetown in the NCAA Tournament, falling 76-57 to the Hoyas in the second round in 2001; that game followed the Pirates' historic 58-57 win over No. 2 seed Iowa State.

Live stats for Wednesday's game will be available via South Florida's official athletics website, www.gousfbulls.com; after visiting the men's basketball page, click the “Game Day” link on the top of the page to access live stats.

The Pirates will return to action after Wednesday's game, heading to New York City for the 2009 Big Apple Classic against rival Howard. The game will be held at historic Madison Square Garden on Saturday at 6 p.m. and will mark Hampton's first Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) game of the season.

For more information on Hampton University basketball, please call the Office of Sports Information at (757) 727-5811, or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com.