WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. – The Hampton University men's basketball team will tip off the 2010-11 season on Monday night, facing off against Wake Forest in the first round of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off at 7 p.m. in the Lawrence Joel Coliseum.

The game will be broadcast live on ESPNU.

The Pirates, in their second season under head coach Edward Joyner Jr., will look to improve upon a tumultuous 2009-10 season that saw the team go 14-18 and finish 8-8 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). Hampton did end the season winning six straight – including a 90-42 season-ending blowout of Howard and a 73-70 win in the MEAC quarterfinals over archrival Norfolk State – before falling in the semifinals 74-67 to eventual conference champion Morgan State.

The Pirates were picked to finish third in the MEAC this season, behind defending champion Morgan State and South Carolina State, and junior guard Darrion Pellum (Hampton, Va.) was a Preseason First Team All-MEAC selection.

Pellum was third on the team in scoring last season, behind seniors Vinny Simpson and Mike Freeman, averaging 11.5 points per game He scored in double figures 19 times in 31 games in 2009-10, including a career-high 22 against Howard and 21 each at La Salle and William & Mary. Pellum also had 38 steals last season, the top returner in that category.

Senior forward Charles Funches (Bayonne, N.J.) is the team's top returning rebounder; he was second on the team in rebounding behind Freeman last season, averaging 6.8 per contest. He pulled down a career-high 10 rebounds five times last season, most recently on Jan. 23 against Bethune-Cookman, recording four double-doubles on the season. Funches also led the team with 51 blocked shots.

Senior guard Brandon Tunnell (Wilmington, Del.) will also contribute, coming into the season as the team's top returning assist man; he had 72 assists last season, averaging 2.25 per contest. Juniors Mike Tuitt (Bronx, N.Y.), Christopher Tolson (Laurel, Md.), Kwame Morgan II (Largo, Md.) and Milade Lola-Charles (Laurel, Md.) will also look to provide experience and leadership, giving Joyner nine upperclassmen for the 2010-11 season.

Seven of Wake Forest's 10 scholarship players this season will be underclassmen, one of the reasons why the Demon Deacons were picked to finish last in the ACC in head coach Jeff Bzdelik's first season. He returns four letterwinners, including one starter, from last year's squad that went 20-11 overall, 9-7 in the ACC and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament before falling 90-60 to No. 1 seed Kentucky.

Sophomore guard C.J. Harris is the team's top returning scorer; he averaged 9.9 points per game last season, ranking third on the team, while going 35-for-108 (.324) from 3-point range. Senior guard Gary Clark will look to take on a leadership role this year after averaging 3.2 points a contest in 2009-10.

In all, there are five freshman on the 2010-11 Demon Deacons squad.

Since moving to Division I in 1995, Hampton is 1-12 all-time against teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Hampton's lone win against an ACC team came Nov. 16, 2001, when the Pirates beat North Carolina 77-69 on the road. Hampton is 1-2 all-time against UNC; the Pirates are also 0-1 against Clemson, 0-3 against Maryland, 0-1 against N.C. State and 0-5 against Virginia.

Monday's game will mark the first time Hampton and Wake Forest will face each other.

Live stats for Monday's contest between Hampton and Wake Forest will be available through Wake's athletic website at wakeforestsports.cstv.com. 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.