Auburn Tigers Set to Take on ‘Physical' Houston Team

Auburn has a big challenge against one of the top programs in the country in No. 4 Houston

The Auburn Tigers get set for one of their tough out-of-conference game on the season slate / Jake Crandall / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The No. 11 Auburn Tigers head out west for a matchup with the No. 4 Houston Cougars at Toyota Center. Auburn is coming off a dominant win over against Vermont on Wednesday night at Neville Arena. 

Houston is also 1-0, opening the season with a 97-40 win over Jackson State on Monday night.

This game has been circled on the schedule for both teams since it was announced and Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl knows his team will be in for a fight.

“These teams have played the same way for a long time,” Pearl said. “They're hard, physical, great rebounding team, great defensive team. They win every 50-50 ball. They play the right way. They play as a team. There's a culture there, for sure.”

Auburn still has a lot to learn about itself and Houston is the type of team capable of teaching some lessons. The battle on the boards is an important part of any basketball game and the team that manages to come out on top often wins the game. Pearl expects that to be a deciding factor against the Cougars.

“We're obviously going to get exposed,” Pearl said. “I would think whoever wins the rebounding battle is going to be important. And both teams have demonstrated they're both really solid defensively. You know, the numbers are the top two teams in KenPom ratings. These are two of the top defensive teams in the country, so it could be first to 50.”

Vermont was expected to give Auburn somewhat of a challenge defensively but the game did not play out that way. The Tigers will likely not get off that easily when they take on Houston on Saturday night.

“They'll put you ball screens, you know, they'll put two on the ball and make it really hard,” Pearl said. “But they'll also adjust and we start getting our bigs out and bother them there. They'll make that adjustment to guards. They're physical, get through screens, but they don't let you -- they're a really brilliant ball-screen defensive team.”

Tipoff is set for 8:30 p.m. CT on Saturday and ESPNU will carry the broadcast.