Another SEC road tilt, another record Bruce Pearl is looking to turn around in Auburn's favor.

The No. 17 Tigers are 4-15 against Ole Miss on the road since the turn of the century and have lost nine of their last 10 meetings vs. the Rebels in Oxford.

That's just more motivation, as usual, Pearl thinks.

"I think it matters to our veterans to be able to do things that last year’s team couldn’t do because that is a high bar that was set," Pearl said of attempting to beat Ole Miss for the first time since the 2017-18 season. "Those guys, many of them, were in supporting roles, not starting roles, so as they are trying to make to make their own history. I think that is why getting off to the 15-0 start, or being 17-2 right now or having a chance to beat Ole Miss when we couldn’t a year ago, I actually do think that affects our guys.

"They are about trying to make history and representing Auburn basketball. The losses to Ole Miss last year were difficult. Yeah, I think they are motivated. Motivation alone is not going to get it done though.”

The Rebels just picked up their first win in conference play against Georgia over the weekend after an 0-5 start, but Pearl knows to look past simply a team's subpar record. They're battle-tested, having played eight Quadrant-I games this season (1-7). And they play teams tight in Oxford, having not lost by double digits at home this year.

"As you look at their record and go, ‘Well, they’re 10-9,’ they’re just like Iowa State, which was 9-9 or whatever they were," Pearl said. "That’s a good basketball team, a team that could still make the tournament. So Ole Miss, obviously, hasn’t been as successful as they would like, but obviously, with the win at Georgia, they’ve got some things they do really well, and obviously it was a good matchup for them (against Auburn) last year."

Pearl has long applauded the talent of Ole Miss head coach Kermit Davis, who gets the most out of his talent and always has a team-specific scheme every night that usually frustrates opponents, Pearl said.

He and Auburn admire the way Davis' teams value possessions, something that Pearl is looking for the Tigers to improve on.

Ole Miss boasts the SEC's leading scorer in guard Breein Tyree (18.9 points per game). Without forward Terence Davis, who was a force against Auburn last season but now plays for the NBA's Toronto Raptors, Pearl knows Tyree will be the No. 1 source of offense.

"Without (Terence) Davis, they've got one less offensive weapon," Pearl said. "They're getting more looks, more touches, and the ball's in [Tyree's] hands a lot more. So he's really effective. I mean, he's a great offensive player."

Tipoff from Oxford is set for 8 p.m. CST on Tuesday night. Auburn is currently a 5-point favorite, per Vegas Insider.

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