DURHAM, N.C. | If you may, get in a DeLorean DMC-12, travel back to 2014 and try to explain this mere fact to someone: Auburn is playing Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

The reactions? Oh, that's a cupcake for the Blue Devils. Coach K will have his guys running all over whoever is coaching the Tigers. This might be the worst matchup of the night.

Now, open your eyes and realize what is at stake for Bruce Pearl's squad on Wednesday night in one of college basketball's most historic basketball arenas. Auburn comes in as the higher-ranked team at No. 2, fresh off an incredible showing in Maui, where the Tigers mauled their way to the title. The Blue Devils, now without their vaunted head coach, have already lost two games before December. Auburn? Yeah, undefeated, winning four games against Quad-1 teams.

It's a game that not only shows you where Auburn is as a program but what this 2024-25 team is capable of. The Tigers have the early frontrunner for National Player of the Year in Johni Broome, a supporting cast full of guys who can go off on any night, and, maybe most important to Pearl, a tenacious attitude on the defensive side of the court.

There will be several quality matchups during the SEC/ACC Challenge, including just eight miles down from the road from where I currently sit in Chapel Hill as Alabama tries to take down North Carolina. But don't let anyone tell you differently: all eyes of the college basketball world will be on what happens in the famous 9,314-seat arena where legends such as Danny Ferry, Christian Laettner, Grant Hill, Shane Battier and ... well, I could go on forever with the long list of Blue Devils who have made Cameron a special place for any basketball fan.

But, for once, neither the home team nor the Cameron Crazies will be the highlight. I'm confident that when Duke fans saw Auburn pop up on the schedule, there was some respect, but not the amount that has been earned over the first month of the season. Pearl put together arguably the most challenging non-conference schedule in the country and ensured this team would be tested early and often. Up until today, the Tigers have passed that test with flying colors.

If the voters in the AP or Coaches Poll had been watching, Auburn would already be on the top of the rankings. But, much like every year when you aren't a so-called "blue blood," respect must be gained by people around the nation. A win in Cameron would do much to raise the expectations and respect for these Tigers even more, and, if my flight up here and the Raleigh-Durham airport were any indication, there will be more than plenty of Auburn fans trying to will the Tigers to win in person.

It might be a game in December, and Pearl and his team have much grander goals than a non-conference win in the early stages of the season, but that's not the point, is it?

No, on Wednesday night, all of college basketball will turn its attention to Cameron Indoor Stadium, and the main reason is Auburn.

Now, go fix your flux capacitor and let everyone in the past know this is for real.