After a long wait, we will finally have college basketball to watch tonight. The Hofstra men’s basketball team will open their season at the Mack against the Eagles of Coppin State University. The game will begin around 7 p.m. at the conclusion of the Hofstra women’s basketball game against Marist.
Tonight’s game also marks the first game of the season for the Eagles, who finished with a record of 9-22 last year. Coppin State will have seven players on the roster from that team, including three of their five starters.

Among the returners is forward Terry Harris Jr., who was named to the 2016-17 preseason All-MEAC Team just a few weeks ago. The senior big-man had eight double-doubles a year ago, leading the team with 7.2 rebounds per game while scoring 12.4 points per game. The Pride will look to contain Harris Jr. tonight, as he is one of the driving forces for this Eagles team.

Other players to watch out for tonight will be senior guard Keith Shivers and senior swingman Joshua Treadwell, who are also are key components to Coppin State’s rotation.

The Eagles are a senior-heavy and experienced group with seven seniors on this year’s squad, including transfers Chas Brown and Joseph Gripper.

Coppin State will come into this game hoping to start their season off with a win as they try to bring their team back up to contender status in the MEAC, despite being picked to finish tenth in the conference.

Hofstra has only played the Eagles once before, which was a 105-64 Pride win down in Baltimore in 2014.

After the tough end to the 2015-16 season, Hofstra has something to prove to themselves and their fans. Team leaders like Brian Bernardi and Rokas Gustys will have their team fired up and ready to compete tonight. Look for the Pride to run the floor and put up a lot of points tonight against a Coppin State team that allowed 80.5 points per game last season.