HAMPTON, Va. (Feb. 4, 2026) ... Every team prefers home games over traveling on the road before a hostile crowd. In fact, 12 of the 13 CAA teams have a winning record at home this year. Only William & Mary (9-1) and UNCW (11-1) can claim a better record on their home courts than the Pirates.

Hampton is 7-1 (.875) at the Convocation Center this season and had an 11-game home court winning streak, longest in the conference at the time, snapped by UNCW on Jan. 24.
In his second season, Coach Ivan Thomas has led the Pirates to a 17-5 (.773) record at the Convocation Center including a 12-4 mark a year ago.

In 32 seasons, the Pirates have a 255-140 (.646) record at the facility that opened in 1993.

In the eight home games, the Pirates average 78.6 ppg while Hampton scores at a 64.9 clip in its 13 road contests.

Home Sweet Home, indeed!

The Game
Hampton (10-13, 4-6) looks to get back on track with the Pirates host Elon (13-10, 5-5) on Thursday. Feb. 5 at the Convocation Center.

Hampton comes into the game with a three-game losing streak. But the Pirates are 7-1 at the Convocation Center this season and 17-5 in Coach Ivan Thomas's two seasons at the helm.

A stifling defense has been the trademark of the Pirates this season. At home, Hampton's high-pressure defense is yielding just 61.5 points per game.

With Michael Eley out of action (turf toe), Hampton is without its leading scorer (12.7 pg), 18th in the CAA. Eley scored 43 points at Campbell on Jan. 8 and has missed the last two games.

Guard Jalyke Gaines-Wyatt (11.7 ppg), forwards Xzavier Long (9.5 ppg) and Daniel Johnson (9.4 ppg) have picked up the slack. Long leads the CAA and is 13th nationally in rebounds (10.2 rpg).

Elon is led by the conference's third-leading scorer (20.7 ppg) and ninth-leading rebounder (6.5 rpg) Chandler Cuthrell. Randall Pettus averages 12.8 ppg, 17th best in the CAA.

It will be Elon's second-ever visit to the Convocation Center. The Phoenix hold a 3-1 edge in the short series. Hampton's win came in the 2024 CAA Tournament by a 56-55 count.

It will be a Homecoming of sorts for Elon's Bryson Spell. A native of Virginia Beach, he played at Cape Henry Collegiate before moving to Liberty and then Elon.