Report: Auburn, Houston agree to two-year neutral site series in Houston, Birmingham

College basketball insider Jon Rothstein reports Wednesday that the Auburn Tigers and Houston Cougars men’s basketball teams have agreed to a two-year series. A neutral site arrangement that will feature a game at the Toyota Center, the home of the Houston Rockets, next basketball season followed by a 2026 matchup in Birmingham.

Auburn and Houston will be squaring off for the first time since the two teams met in the 2023 NCAA Tournament. A matchup where the No. 1 seeded Cougars dominated in an 81-64 win over the No. 8 seeded Tigers in the second round of March Madness. A game that Auburn entered halftime with a 10-point lead and propelled Houston to the Sweet 16, a round of the NCAA Tournament they’ve reached in five straight seasons.

Prior to their postseason matchup in 2023, the two programs had not faced off since 1982. With Houston boasting a 7-1 record all-time versus Auburn including six straight wins over the Tigers. Schedule to match up next on November 9 in what will be a double-header in the Toyota Center also featuring a game between Florida State and Rice.

Houston took home the Big 12 regular season title last season in their first year in the conference, once again earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament and finishing the season 32-5 following a Sweet 16 loss to Duke. Meanwhile Auburn took home their second SEC Tournament Championship of the Bruce Pearl era last season but fell in the first round of March Madness in an upset loss to Yale, ending the year with a 27–8 record (their best since the 2018-2019 season).

Auburn adds the Cougars to their already robust non-conference schedule that features an SEC/ACC Challenge matchup against Duke in Durham on December 4 and a matchup in Birmingham against Purdue on December 21. Also joining Memphis, Michigan State, UConn, Colorado, Dayton, Iowa State, and North Carolina in the Maui Invitational at the historic Lahaina Civic Center starting on November 25.

Houston will also face the Tigers’ rival next basketball season with a non-conference matchup against Alabama at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on November 26. Also taking on Butler at home as a part of the Big East-Big 12 Battle and taking on Hofstra on November 22 and Toledo on December 18 as a part of their non-conference slate next season.