There will be two games Saturday in Legacy Arena, one involving Auburn and one involving Alabama. But combined as a single ticketed event, the second round games of the NCAA tournament will draw fans from both rivals school to Birmingham.

The Midwest region’s No. 9 seed Auburn will meet No. 1 seed Houston at 6:10 p.m. CT, followed by the South region’s No. 1 seed Alabama against No. 8 seed Maryland at 8:40 p.m. CT.

Maryland coach Kevin Willard hopes Auburn fans will stay to root against Alabama in the nightcap, while Houston coach Kelvin Sampson gave a “Roll Tide” when asked for his message to Alabama fans arriving early for the Auburn game.

But Alabama coach Nate Oats and Auburn coach Bruce Pearl are hoping for Tigers and Tide fans to root for one another’s success.

“I would like it if during our game, we could get all the SEC fans cheering for the SEC team in the game,” Oats said Friday. “For our league, I told you, I’m pulling for the SEC. I want the SEC teams to do well. I think we need it for our league.”

The NCAA distributes revenue from its men’s basketball tournament to conferences based on “units” earned for teams qualifying for the tournament and then additional units for advancing.

“I think NCAA tournament success bodes well for the league,” Oats continued. “Our league, the basketball in the SEC has got significantly better here lately. We’ve got a lot of pros coming out of this league. We play a great brand of basketball. We need to get some NCAA tournament success.”

Said Oats to Auburn fans: “Hopefully they’re smart enough to know that they should be pulling for the SEC. What’s good for the SEC is good for Alabama. What’s good for the SEC is good for Auburn.”

Pearl echoed the sentiment.

“My hope is that our fans root for Alabama in the SEC and that Alabama’s fans root for Auburn in the SEC,” he said Friday. “I would hope that’s the case.”

But both coaches acknowledged their hopes might not come true Saturday.

Said Oats of Auburn fans rooting against Alabama: “Some will, I’m sure. They can’t help themselves. It is what it is.”

And Pearl of Alabama fans potentially rooting for Auburn: “I think some will. I think some won’t.”

Pearl also offered some advice to Sampson.

“If I was coaching the Houston Cougars, I would do everything I could to bring up to Alabama’s fans just how much they’re supposed to hate Auburn, right? You know, talk about anything you can possibly talk about,” he said. “Talk about the Iron Bowl. Talk about Cam Newton and Cam beating them in Tuscaloosa. Talk about Charles Barkley. Talk about anything you can talk about just to right that Alabama fan base up to root against Auburn.”

And Pearl touched on the respect his program has for Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament.

“The other day just on social media Zep Jasper got asked a question about Alabama, and he talked about that Alabama is a team that could win a national championship,” Pearl said. “They’re seeded No. 1. They’re our arch-rivals. We don’t like Alabama. They don’t like Auburn, but we respect them and they’re in our league.

“If Auburn doesn’t win the national championship and Zep Jasper respects them as an opponent and as somebody from the league and in the state of Alabama, that’s what — there aren’t many kids that are like that.”

Pearl has limits, though.

“I’m not going to go so far as to say I’m rooting for them, but I respect them, and they’re in the SEC, and I would like to see them do really well,” he said. “I would like to see them beat Maryland tomorrow, and I would like to see Auburn beat Houston if we can and have Birmingham, Alabama, be able to be a place where both these teams came from.”

And he gave his pitch to Alabama fans to feel the same way about Auburn.

“Because they respect us,” he said. “They respect our program. They respect how our kids play. You know, when you are a gladiator and you are competing in the arena and you’ve got a worthy opponent, you want to kill them before they kill you, but you still — you better have respect for that opponent, and I think I just think we do. So that’s about as far as I can take it.”

Mike Rodak is an Alabama beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @mikerodak.