HOUSTON (Interstat) — Houston will host Hampton in a women’s NCAA Division I basketball game on Monday at Hofheinz Pavillion in Houston, Texas. The Cougars will be the home team, and the Pirates will be the visiting team. Both teams enter the game with 0-0 records.

Houston will look to begin the season with a strong home performance. The Cougars’ most recent previous result was a 76-66 loss at BYU. Houston will aim to apply lessons from that game in its first outing of the season. The Cougars will play in familiar surroundings at Hofheinz Pavillion, where they will try to establish an early rhythm and lean on home-court comfort. Houston will also seek to set a steady tone on both ends of the floor as it opens its schedule. The Cougars will try to dictate the pace and make Hampton earn its points in the half court.

Hampton will begin its season on the road. The Pirates’ most recent previous result was a 67-62 loss at Elon. Hampton will seek a more favorable outcome as it opens the schedule away from home. The Pirates will try to handle the travel and play with composure against a Houston team that is also opening the season. Hampton will look to stay organized on offense and make the Cougars work for scoring chances at the other end. The Pirates will aim to limit Houston’s second-chance opportunities and keep the game within reach.

The matchup gives both programs an early opportunity to measure themselves against an unfamiliar opponent. Houston and Hampton are both 0-0, and neither team has played a regular-season game yet this season. The Cougars and Pirates will each look to set a tone before moving deeper into their schedules. The contest also offers each team a chance to build confidence before a busy stretch of games. Both teams will be eager to start the season on a positive note.

Houston’s upcoming schedule includes home games against Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, Houston Christian, Prairie View, Texas Southern and Montana State, along with road games at Montana, Rice and LSU. Hampton’s schedule includes a road game at SMU, a home game against Norfolk State, road games at High Point and Delaware, and a stretch that includes North Carolina A&T, Campbell, College of Charleston, William & Mary, Towson and UNC Wilmington. Those games will follow this matchup and give both teams an early look at their depth and rotations.

Interstat’s game simulator is projecting a final score of Houston 60, Hampton 59. The projection points to a close matchup at Hofheinz Pavillion.