Survive and advance. That’s the name of the game in March Madness, and Auburn and Houston did just that in the opening round Thursday night in Birmingham.

Now the eighth-seeded Tigers and top-seeded Cougars are set for a second-round matchup at Legacy Arena on Saturday. The two teams will square off at 6:10 p.m. CT, with the game airing on TBS and with a trip to the Sweet 16 on the line.

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Auburn advanced to the second round after withstanding a late run against eighth-seeded Iowa and holding on for an 83-75 win. The Tigers built a 17-point lead midway through the second half and saw it dwindle to four inside the final few minutes, but they never relinquished the lead and held on for the win.

Houston, meanwhile, dispatched a feisty 16th-seeded Northern Kentucky in the late game at Legacy Arena on Thursday night. The Cougars won, 63-52, in a game that saw its margin float in the single digits for much of the night before Kelvin Sampson’s team pulled away late.

Saturday’s showdown between Auburn and Houston will be the eighth all-time meeting on the hardwood between the two programs. Houston leads the series, 6-1, and has won each of the last five matchups, the most recent of which came all the way back in 1982.

This will be the first time the two teams have met in the postseason, and the winner will advance to Kansas City for the Sweet 16 next week.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.