Bruce Pearl knows that his Auburn team is walking into a hostile environment on Saturday afternoon in Oxford, Miss. Chris Beard has Ole Miss at No. 23 in the country and 16-5 on the season, with expectations to make a run in March.

"It's a big game for both clubs," Pearl said. "Obviously, Oxford on a Saturday is going to be pretty lit up."

That's the new norm for the No. 1 Tigers, the last undefeated team in the SEC, putting even a bigger target on their back as they try to stay atop the rankings and push forward toward a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

"We're going to get everybody's best shot," Chaney Johnson said.

The Rebels are led by a trio of guards: Sean Pedulla, Jaylen Murray and Matthew Murrell, who combine for 36.6 points and close to 10 assists per game. Those three, combined with forward Jaemyn Brakefield, all average double digits in points.

"When Jaemyn Brakefield is coming off the bench, that tells you how deep and how talented a roster this Ole Miss team has," Pearl said.

And there's the problem of Malik Dia, who turned in a 23-point, 19-rebound performance on January 14 in the Rebels' 74-64 victory over No. 4 Alabama.

"They're another ranked team, another Quad 1 opportunity," Johnson said. "We're just trying to approach this how we approach every game, just trying to improve, get better where we need to get better at and get the win."

Fatigue could also be an issue for Pearl's squad after a short turnaround following the victory at LSU on Wednesday night. The Auburn coach put his players through a work day on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the game, while Friday will be spent traveling to Oxford.

"A combination of doing enough to get them prepared but not too much -- it's an early Saturday game," Pearl said. "We'll be fine; it's just a lot in a short period of time."

Auburn and Ole Miss tip off at 1 p.m. CT, with the game airing on ESPN.