The Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars – two of college basketball’s premier programs over the past half decade – will square off in a two-year series starting this season, according to Jon Rothstein of College Hoops Today.
The first game is set for November 9, 2024 at the Toyota Center in Houston, with a return game planned in Birmingham in 2025.
Houston has been to each of the past six NCAA Tournaments under Kelvin Sampson, earning back-to-back No. 1 seeds in 2023 and 2024. The transition from the AAC to the Big 12 went off without a hitch, as the Coogs went 32-5 with a 15-3 record in conference play.
They’ll face a challenging early season test against Bruce Pearl and Auburn, who are looking to put last year’s first round upset loss to 13 seed Yale in the rearview mirror.
The Tigers are once again projected to be a top team in the SEC, and the return of Johni Broome and additions of JP Pegues and Miles Kelly in the transfer portal should make for another fun year.