LAS VEGAS – The Austin Gamblers and Texas Rattlers have finally learned who they will each face in the second round of the PBR Team Series Championship on Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena (11 p.m. ET CBS Sports Network)

No. 1 Austin will face No. 8 Nashville on Saturday night, while No. 2 Texas squares off against No. 5 Arizona.

The No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, enjoyed first-round byes and got to see the rest of the league battle it out in the first round as the tour’s first postseason play began Friday night.

RELATED: PBR Team Series Championship primer

2022 PBR Team Series Championship Second Round Matchups (11 p.m. ET CBS Sports Network)

No. 8 Nashville at No. 1 Austin No. 5 Arizona at No. 2 Texas No. 4 Carolina at No. 3 Carolina Last Chance Game (Three losers from the above games)

No. 7 Kansas City and No. 6 Missouri were eliminated from the PBR Team Series Championship on Friday night during the Last Chance Game, which was won by No. 3 Oklahoma and its 4-for-5 (359.5 points) performance.

The intensity of the postseason will only get stronger on Saturday night with only six teams remaining in the postseason.

Austin coach Michael Gaffney said the Gamblers just have to keep things simple this weekend as they look to become the inaugural PBR Team Series Champions.

“I think (our key) is we don’t overthink this,” Gaffney said. “We’ve had that happen before. We’ve had those lulls where we were really overthinking stuff and you just leave Jose (Vitor Leme) out of it because he’s just a robot, that’s just who he is. He’s from another world. It’s always back to basics for us. Don’t overthink this shit, we’re not reinventing the wheel. I sound like a broken record, but don’t overthink this, just go out there and ride.

“You hear me say it all the time, the other coaches too, let’s enjoy the moment. Hopefully we keep it light and don’t overthink it, that’s our key.”

Texas arrives at T-Mobile Arena riding a 10-game win streak, and Texas coach Cody Lambert believes his team can keep the train rolling ahead.  

RELATED: You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers: PBR Team Series Championship primer

“I feel like we have a vibe now that I was hoping for in the beginning of the year, and right after the draft I said we have the quietest, most blue-collar team that we could ever have,” Lambert said. “We had to get better, and we had to learn, and we learned to adjust and adapt and have a humble team that is determined and focused and rides with love in their hearts.”

The playoffs are the same five-on-five, head-to-head format fans saw during the regular season. Two more teams will be eliminated from the PBR Team Series Championship on Saturday night. Round 2 will also feature a “Last Chance” playoff game for teams who lost their first game earlier in the night.

Let’s take a look at the second-round matchups.

No. 8 Nashville Stampede at No. 1 Austin Gamblers Regular Season Record: Austin (16-12) | Nashville (7-20-1) Regular Season Game Competition Rides: Austin (51) | Nashville (47) Regular Season Riding Percentage: Austin (36.43%) | Nashville (33.57%) Average Game Score in Regular Season: Austin (158.1) | Nashville (144.71)

Season Series: Austin leads 3-1

Saturday Starting Lineups: Joao Henrique Lucas (NS) vs. Black Ice Dalton Kasel (AG) vs. Manaba Ryan Dirteater (NS) vs. JAG Metals Grand Theft Ramon de Lima (AG) vs. Chief Cladson Rodolfo (NS) vs. Jeremiah Ezekiel Mitchell (AG) vs. Bottom's Up Silvano Alves (NS) vs. Game Over Lucas Divino (AG) vs. Whip Kaique Pacheco (NS) vs. Gangster Time Jose Vitor Leme (AG) vs. Show Me Homie

HOW WE GOT HERE: Austin received a first-round bye courtesy of having the best regular-season record in the league and winning a three-way tiebreaker for the No. 1 seed with Texas and Oklahoma via Bonus Round Points (59.5).

Nashville advanced to the second round via a 264.75-176 victory over No. 3 Oklahoma. Ryan Dirteater (88.5 points on Bubba G), Cladson Rodolfo (88.25 points on Smooth Over It) and 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco (88 points on Born To Sin) recorded rides for the Stampede. Oklahoma was in a position to possibly win the game with a walk-off ride, but Nashville coach Justin McBride successfully used his challenge as instant replay reviewed Kolbaba slapped Problem Child at 7.83 seconds to end the game.

AUSTIN RIDER TO WATCH: Two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme won the league’s $50,000 MVP title following an outstanding 19-for-25 performance in the regular season. The last time Leme was inside T-Mobile Arena, he rode 2021 PBR World Champion Bull Woopaa for a record-setting, 98.75 points to win his second world title and World Finals event crown. Leme is sensational in Las Vegas with a career 73% riding average at all PBR events at every level of competition in Vegas.

NASHVILLE RIDER TO WATCH: 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco was the No. 2 pick in the PBR Team Series Draft in the spring, one spot behind Leme. Pacheco is no stranger to battling it out with Leme for gold buckles, especially last year when Pacheco went 5-for-6 at the 2021 World Finals and Leme went 6-for-6. Now their teams will battle inside T-Mobile Arena Saturday. Pacheco was moved to the closer role for the first time in 15 games on Friday night, and he did not disappoint for coach McBride.

No. 5 Arizona Ridge Riders at No. 2 Texas Rattlers

Regular Season Record: Texas (16-12) | Arizona (14-13-1) Regular Season Game Competition Rides: Texas (50) | Arizona (57) Regular Season Game Competition Riding Percentage: Texas (35.71%) | Arizona (40.71%) Average Game Score: Texas (153.68) | Arizona (174.63)

Season Series: Texas leads 3-1

Saturday Starting Lineups: Alisson de Souza (ARR) vs. Crossover Joao Ricardo Vieira (TR) vs. Cliff Hanger Eduardo Aparecido (ARR) vs. Black Tie Cody Jesus (TR) vs. Harold's Genuine Risk Vitor Losnake (ARR) vs. Mike's Effect Rafael Jose de Brito (TR) vs. Tested's Viper Keyshawn Whitehorse (ARR) vs. Cold Creek Brady Oleson (TR) vs. Kid Knapper Luciano de Castro (ARR) vs. War Dress Daniel Keeping (TR) vs. Napoleon 

HOW WE GOT HERE: Texas received a first-round bye courtesy of having the best regular-season record in the league, and winning a tiebreaker over Oklahoma for the No. 2 seed via Bonus Round Points (48).

Arizona advanced to the second round via a slim 88-87.75 victory over No. 6 Missouri. The Ridge Riders easily could have been battling it out in the Last Chance Game, but Eduardo Aparecido’s 88-point ride on High Country Hitman wound up being just enough to put Arizona in the lead after Adriano Salgado previously started the game for the Thunder with an 87.75-point ride on Hurts So Good. The Thunder closed the game with four consecutive buckoffs. Arizona has posted only one qualified ride in three of its past four games and has only two rides in its last 10 outs.

TEXAS RIDER TO WATCH: Joao Ricardo Vieira went 2-for-2 at the PBR Challenger Series Championship on Thursday night, and he ended the PBR Teams regular season with seven consecutive rides. Vieira has had a mixed bag of results in Vegas with a 41.67% riding average at all levels and has come up short multiple times at winning a PBR world title. Now Vieira will look to get over the championship hill with the help of his Rattlers teammates.                                                             

ARIZONA RIDER TO WATCH: Eduardo Aparecido has ridden three of his past four bulls and he is the most experienced rider for Arizona. The 11-time PBR World Finals qualifier could be the perfect person to help calm the waters for the Arizona team as it attempts to end its cold streak and knock off the red-hot Rattlers.

No. 4 Carolina Cowboys at No. 3 Oklahoma Freedom

Regular Season Game Record: Oklahoma (16-12) | Carolina (15-13) Regular Season Game Competition Rides: Oklahoma (44) | Carolina (55) Regular Season Game Competition Riding Percentage: Oklahoma (31.43%) | Carolina (39.29%) Regular Season Average Game Score: Oklahoma (136.66) | Carolina (169.71)

Saturday Starting Lineups: Cooper Davis (CC) vs. Express Lane Chase Outlaw (OF) vs. Homegrown Mason Taylor (CC) vs. Midnight Flyer Trevor Kastner (OF) vs. Sneaky Situation Sandro Batista (CC) vs. safety Meeting Trevor Reiste (OF) vs. The Right Stuff Marco Eguchi (CC) vs. Pookie Holler Eli Vastbinder (OF) vs. Prime Tested Daylon Swearingen (CC) vs. Choc Tease Derek Kolbaba (OF) vs. Sky Harbor

Season Series: Tied at 2-2

HOW WE GOT HERE: Oklahoma was on the brink of elimination on Friday night after they were upset by No. 8 Nashville in the first game of the evening. However, the Freedom roared back to life with a massively impressive 4-for-5 performance in the Last Chance Game. Not only did they ride four straight bulls to eliminate Kansas City and Missouri, but the team started with back-to-back, 90-point rides from Trevor Kastner and Derek Kolbaba.

Carolina escaped an upset against No. 7 Kansas City thanks to reigning PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen. The 23-year-old rode Lone Survivor for 88.75 points and the walkoff victory. Sandro Batista first broke the scoreless game with his 86.75-point ride on Cold Chill, but Kansas City’s Bob Mitchell rode UTZ BesTex Solutions Red Clark for 88.75 points prior to Swearingen’s heroics. 

OKLAHOMA RIDER TO WATCH: Derek Kolbaba continues to prove he is a much-improved bull rider since being drafted by the Freedom in May. Kolbaba could have easily let his 7-second slap in the game against Nashville rattle him, but he instead bounced back with an emphatic 91.25 points on Fearful. Kolbaba now leads the league with five 90-point rides.

CAROLINA RIDER TO WATCH: The Cowboys have certainly struggled when they get off to a slow start this season, but Swearingen continues to be their pillar of strength in the face of adversity. Swearingen is now 18-for-29 (62.07%).  He may only have one walkoff, game-winning ride, but Swearingen actually has 12 rides from the closer role, which is second-most in the PBR.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media