Every year, four teams make their way to the semifinals of the NCAA Tournament, also known as the Final Four. Last year, it was the Auburn Tigers' turn to make it to the penultimate round, alongside the Duke Blue Devils, Florida Gators, and Houston Cougars.
While only Houston and Florida advanced to the National Championship game, it was a Final Four for the history books, and this season, the Tigers are set to face a fellow semifinal contender.
On Nov. 16, the Tigers and the Cougars will tip off in Birmingham, AL (a semi-neutral site) in the Battleground 2k25.
Houston bested the Blue Devils in the 2025 Final Four as the Gators defeated Auburn. So, the two teams never faced each other in last year's postseason. However, it is still a massive matchup for the pair of Final Four programs.
A massive matchup in the Magic City 💫 pic.twitter.com/bwpCGjOjbA
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) August 12, 2025
While they didn't play in the postseason, the Tigers and the Cougars did face each other in a non-conference matchup at the start of the 2024-25 season. In fact, it was the only time that the two programs had shared a court before.
Last year, Auburn walked away with a five-point victory over Houston, defeating the Cougars 74-69 behind a 21-point performance by Tahaad Pettiford and a 20-point game by Johni Broome.
While the Tigers won't have Broome running the floor this season, Pettiford is returning for at least one more season at Auburn.
Pettiford, who was a true freshman, averaged 11.6 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per game. While he played in all 38 of the Tigers' games last season, the rising sophomore only earned one starting appearance.
This season, the Tigers will tip off their campaign to return to the Final Four (and hopefully the National Championship) with a game against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Wednesday, Oct. 15, at 7 p.m. CT.