Hampton: Not your typical MEAC team

When Hampton knocked off Boston College on Jan. 2, it gave the Lady Pirates a 3-3 record against BCS conference programs this season. That's a solid result for just about any program. But when taken in context of the rest of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, it's downright remarkable.

The MEAC's other 12 teams are a combined 1-24 against BCS programs in 2012-13. The lone victory came when South Carolina State surprised Clemson on Dec. 9. (How do we know Clemson was surprised? Because the year before, Clemson beat South Carolina State by 45 points).

Hampton's success against BCS schools relative to its conference peers isn't just a one-year phenomenon, either. Over the past three seasons, Hampton has a 6-7 record against so-called majors. The rest of the MEAC? A combined 5-81.

It's certainly helped that Lady Pirates coach David Six has been able to convince schools like Florida, LSU and BC to play at Hampton, although given HU's success in these games, we're not sure how long that's going to continue. Then again, three of Hampton's BCS victories have come on the road. Also, on two other occasions the Lady Pirates came within a whisker of pulling out neutral-site victories - an overtime loss to No. 3 seed Kentucky in the first round of the 2011 NCAA Tournament, and last November's one-point loss to DePaul during the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. The Lady Pirates led by 13 with less than 10 minutes remaining in the second half.

Hampton vs. BCS programs

2012-13
Wins: Mississippi State (SEC, road); LSU (SEC, home); Boston College (ACC, home)
Losses: South Carolina (SEC, neutral); DePaul (Big East, neutral); Virginia Tech (ACC, road)

2011-12
Wins: Pittsburgh (Big East, road); Boston College (ACC, road)
Losses: Florida (SEC, road); Stanford (Pac-12, neutral)

2010-11
Win: Florida (SEC, home)
Losses: Wake Forest (ACC, road); Kentucky (SEC, neutral)