AUBURN | Auburn will enter conference play Saturday with a 12-1 record, ranked No. 2 nationally and with a nation’s best six Quad 1 wins.

But the Tigers will also be entering a league race that includes 10 teams ranked in the Top 25 and all 16 teams with 10 or more wins.

“Now, we get ready to start the toughest conference schedule in the history of college basketball,” said AU coach Bruce Pearl. “Like, there's maybe never been a league like this and … the strong are literally going to be the only ones who survive. Hungry, healthy, humble is the way to get through it.

“Matchups are going to matter. We're going to lose games. But we can't let a loss affect us the next time out. We've got to be beat instead of beating ourselves. But we're healthy and we're ready.”

Auburn is as prepared as any team in the country with wins over No. 4 Houston, No. 5 Iowa State, No. 12 North Carolina, No. 16 Purdue, Memphis and Ohio State on neutral courts.

The only loss was 84-78 at No. 9 Duke.

"It was the toughest non-conference schedule in the history of Auburn basketball, and we lost one game at Duke; a close game,” said Pearl. “So, I'm very, very proud of our kids. A lot of the games we played were on neutral sites and away from home, so we demonstrated that we can win away from Neville.”

The Tigers opening SEC opponent will be Missouri, which will enter the contest 11-2 overall including a home win over No. 1 Kansas Dec. 8.

Auburn’s remaining conference schedule includes home and away games against No. 5 Alabama, No. 24 Ole Miss and Georgia, home games against No. 1 Tennessee, No. 6 Florida, No. 12 Oklahoma, No. 17 Mississippi State and No. 23 Arkansas, and road games at No. 10 Kentucky, No. 13 Texas A&M, Texas, South Carolina, LSU and Vanderbilt

“We had some really great competition in neutral environments, and it just gives me confidence for this team going forward,” said fifth-year senior Dylan Cardwell. “I'm excited to play on the road in the SEC to see how we compete.

“We did a good enough job, an all right job against Duke, but not every place is gonna be Duke or Cameron Indoor, so I'm just excited to see the potential of this team going forward.”

Tip-off at Neville Arena is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT on SEC Network.