After starting 3-0 in 2025, Auburn basketball prepares for one of the season’s greatest tests against the No. 1 rated Houston Cougars.
Auburn defeated Texas 74-69 last season. The contest on Sunday will be part of the Battleground 2k25 event, which will take place in Birmingham, Alabama.
Both programs competed in the 2025 Final Four, with Houston winning the national championship. The Cougars and Tigers lost to the eventual champions, the Florida Gators.
“Got to put a complete game together for us to be able to beat the best teams on our schedule, and we’ve got a really good one on Sunday,” Steven Pearl, the Auburn coach, said.
Here’s a breakdown of Houston:
The team
Houston is off to a 3-0 start with wins over Lehigh, Towson and Oakland. Through those games, the Cougars are holding opponents to just 50.0 points per outing while putting up 72.7 points themselves.
In the paint, Houston is pulling down 41.3 boards per game, and its guard play is generating 16.0 assists a night.
The Cougars are guided by longtime head coach Kelvin Sampson, who has taken the program to seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances in his 11 seasons. Sampson is one of only 15 coaches in NCAA history to send four or more programs to the NCAA Tournament, and one of 16 to reach the Final Four with multiple schools.
Players to watch
Senior Emanuel Sharp leads Houston in scoring at 17.3 points per game while hitting 50% of his shots. He’s also adding 4.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists.
Freshman guard Kingston Fleming is putting up 15.7 points per game, and five-star freshman center Chris Cenac Jr. is contributing 8.3 points along with a team-best 9.0 rebounds. Returning guard Milos Uzan is pacing the Cougars with 4.7 assists per game and averaging 8.7 points. Freshman Isiah Harwell leads the defense with 2.5 steals a game and chips in 6.0 points.
Houston also brings back sophomore guard Mercy Miller, the son of hip-hop icon Percy “Master P” Miller. He’s averaging 4.0 points in 11.0 minutes per game.
Auburn and Houston are scheduled to tip at 2 p.m. CST at Legacy Arena, with the broadcast available on ESPN.