Auburn’s nonconference schedule has caught the eye of many going into the 2024-2025 season.

The discussion isn’t without reason either. The Tigers play four top 15 teams out of conference and have a chance to see a couple more during the Maui Invitational.

The tough games aren’t just in the nonconference, though. The Southeastern Conference is loaded this season, featuring nine teams ranked in the preseason AP Poll.

Auburn will play all eight of the other ranked teams and will play two of those teams twice.

“The league is probably gonna beat each other up pretty good,” Bruce Pearl said Tuesday at SEC Basketball Media Day in Birmingham. “Handling losses, getting to the next play, getting to the next game is going to be really, really important.”

Pearl also acknowledged that with the gauntlet Auburn faces in nonconference play, there could be more early losses than other years.

“We’re gonna lose some games in the nonconference perhaps more than we have in the past, just because of the strength of schedule,” Pearl said. “How do we handle that?”

Those early tests could benefit Auburn later in the season. Pearl referenced that as one of the reasons behind the schedule, along with believing the players “deserve the opportunity to play against the best.”

“Adversity doesn’t always build character, but adversity will reveal character,” Pearl said. “We’re gonna have some adversity.”

For Auburn’s players, the challenge is welcomed. All-American forward Johni Broome acknowledged how it heightens the team’s preparation.

“Obviously, the strength of schedule does play a factor because you can’t have nights off,” Broome said.

Auburn only played one ranked team in the nonconference last season, an 88-82 loss to Baylor. The uptick in big nonconference games this season also gives the Tigers a number of early Quad I opportunities away from home.

The other big reason behind Auburn’s challenging schedule is an emphasis from Pearl on taking the next step as a program.

Pearl has mentioned that he wants Auburn to “act like” a top 10 program, given its recent success, and a large part of that comes from who the Tigers play.

“You can’t always control recruiting. You can’t control the transfer portal. You can’t control a lot of things that are happening, but you can control your schedule,” Pearl said.

In making that statement, Pearl mentioned how much it means for the program to have showcase games against teams like Houston and Purdue.

“The fact that Kelvin Sampson thought enough of Auburn’s basketball program to want to get involved in that neutral, neutral game or that Matt Painter coming off a national championship game, thought that bringing Auburn back to Indianapolis in a year was gonna be a game that they could draw… it’s what we work for.”

Fans will get their first look at the Tigers in just over two weeks when Auburn hosts Florida Atlantic in a charity exhibition game on Nov. 1.

Peter Rauterkus covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @peter_rauterkus or email him at [email protected]m