How to Watch No. 1 Houston Cougars vs. No. 22 Auburn Tigers
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The No. 1 Houston Cougars will look to hold on to their top ranking as they head to Birmingham, Ala. to face No. 22 Auburn at Legacy Arena Sunday, Nov. 16.
The matchup is the Cougars' first Quad 1 opportunity of 2025-26 four games in and the return game of the neutral site semi-home-and-home series that began on Nov. 9, 2024 at Toyota Center in Houston, a matchup of the top two KenPom rated teams to begin 2024-25. The Tigers won that meeting 74-69 fueled behind then-true freshman Tahaad Pettiford's 21 points off the bench.
A season later, both teams, each after runs as top seeds to the Final Four in San Antonio, are 3-0 entering the Sunday rematch. There's a stark difference in who's at the helm this time for Auburn however, as coach Steven Pearl took it after his father, Bruce Pearl, announced his retirement as head coach on Sep. 22.
With these changes in mind, here's additional information for how to watch the marquee rematch on Sunday.
How To Watch
Who: No. 1 Houston Cougars (3-0) vs. No. 22 Auburn Tigers (3-0)
What: RxBenefits Battleground 2k25
When: Sunday, Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. CST
Where: Legacy Arena at BJCC in Birmingham, Ala.
TV/Streaming: ESPN
TV Announcers: Kevin Brown (Play-by-Play), Fran Fraschilla (Analyst)
Radio: KPRC 950 AM, The Varsity Network
Radio Announcer: Jeremy Branham (Play-by-Play)
Last Season: Both teams finished as No. 1 seeds en route to an all-top seed Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio. Houston, after starting 4-3 from its loss to Auburn and a 1-2 trip to the Players' Era tournament in Las Vegas, made a 31-1 run all the way to the national championship game, where the Cougars fell to Florida 65-63, in which the Gators only led for 63 seconds in entire the game.
Auburn, who entered their Final Four matchup at 32-5 overall against Florida, fell to the eventual national champions 79-73 in what would ultimately be the final game of Pearl's tenure.
Series History: Despite Houston's 74-69 loss to Auburn on Nov. 9, 2024 at Toyota Center in Houston, the Cougars maintain firm control of the all-time series with a 7-2 record against the Tigers. Prior to the 2024-25 matchup, Houston, as a No. 1 seed in the Midwest region out of its final season in the American Athletic Conference in 2022-23, faced Auburn in the second round of the NCAA tournament at Legacy Arena in Birmingham, where the upcoming matchup will take place.
The Cougars overcame a 41-31 halftime deficit to defeat the Tigers 81-64, fueled by Tramon Mark's 26 points and 8-for-9 mark at the stripe, and advance to their fourth straight Sweet 16.
Michael Carrara is a staff writer for Houston Cougars on SI. He attends the University of Houston, where he is a journalism major and a marketing minor. He is also a sports writer and reporter for the Daily Cougar, having covered baseball as an NCBWA member. You can find Michael on all major social media channels, including X on @michaelcoalec.