Hempstead, NY - The highly-anticipated start to the Speedy Claxton head coaching era at Hofstra gets underway on Tuesday evening when the Pride men's basketball team faces #15 Houston. 

Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. local time (8 p.m. EDT) from the Fertitta Center. 

Tuesday's game will air on ESPN+ and WRHU (88.7) will also carry the game starting with a 7:45 p.m. pregame show. 

Claxton, arguably the greatest player in program history, was named to his post in April and Tuesday will mark his debut on the sidelines as the head coach at Hofstra. A 2000 graduate of Hofstra, Claxton ranks eighth all-time in program history with 2,015 career points and is the program's all-time leader in assists (660) and steals (288). 

Year one of the Claxton era will feature a deep roster that has five returnees, including three starters, and nine newcomers. 

The Pride went 13-10 a season ago and advanced to the Colonial Athletic Association semifinals. 

Houston went 28-4 last season and advanced to the Final Four. 

This is the first-ever meeting between Hofstra and Houston in men's basketball. The Pride is 7-19 all-time against the current members of the American Athletic Conference (has faced South Florida, Southern Methodist, Temple, and Tulane). 

This marks the second consecutive season Hofstra will open the year against a ranked opponent after facing #24 Rutgers in the 2020-21 season lid-lifter.