Maybe a February Saturday night in Oxford, Mississippi, isn’t exactly where Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl thought the biggest night of his season thus far would come when he first looked at his 2023-24 schedule.

Maybe that’s a testament to Ole Miss being one of the biggest surprises in the SEC this season, entering Saturday with an 18-3 overall record and setting up as a Quad 1 opportunity on the road for No. 16 Auburn. Auburn had already beaten Ole Miss once before this season in January and at that point, Ole Miss was ranked in the Associated Press top 25.

Whatever perceptions had to change on Ole Miss this season — which has the second-most all-time losses of any SEC team — it led Pearl to the following nine words as the first he’d say in his post-game press conference after a 91-77 win Saturday to complete a season sweep over Ole Miss.

“That’s the best win of the year for us,” Pearl said.

And statistically, he’s right.

Auburn, now 18-4 overall and 7-2 in the SEC, didn’t have a Quad 1 win as it took the floor of The Pavilion at Ole Miss. A Quad 1 win is defined against a top 30 team in the NET ratings in a home game, a top 50 team on a neutral court and a top 75 team in a road game.

Auburn entered Saturday 0-4 in Quad 1 games but 17-0 in all others.

Ole Miss entered Saturday ranked at No. 59.

And Auburn finally got its Quad 1 win as it responded dominantly, outscoring Ole Miss 62-35 over the final 22:35 of the game. Auburn shot 73% in the second half of its win. It turned around a defense that struggled in the first half to keep Ole Miss to only 11 made baskets in the second.

Ole Miss leading scorer guard Matthew Murrell made only one second-half basket after scoring 14 points in the first.

After scoring no points in the first half, Auburn center Johni Broome scored 15 in the second. Forward Chad Baker-Mazara had 12 points in the second half after only three in the first.

“Not everybody has Johni Broome,” Pearl said. “I’m saying, ‘Johni Broome, we’re gonna get it in to you. But you may get doubled, and they’ve got the shot-blockers. There may be some inside out.’ He was fine.”

It was the best response Auburn has shown this season in a game on any floor — home, neutral or road. And as Auburn’s lone Quad 1 win, Ole Miss is, by default, Auburn’s best win.

Ole Miss, though, may not be Auburn’s best in terms of the NET in general. Texas A&M is Auburn’s best win based on NET ratings. But beating the Aggies — ranked No. 46 in the NET as of Saturday — at Neville Arena only qualifies as a Quad 2 win.

And while the win may be Auburn’s best based on its NCAA Tournament resume numbers, it may also be its best with regard to the impact it will have on this team.

“My confidence in them jumped a notch tonight, it did,” Pearl said. “And their confidence in themselves should jump a notch.”

Getting a Quad 1 win is more important to what the Selection Committee may think of Auburn come the middle of March, and less so a milestone that was focused on within Auburn’s locker room. Instead, that focus looked to getting a win on the road where Auburn has struggled this year and especially so over the last two trips.

Auburn lost its previous two late January road games — at Alabama and at Mississippi State — by a combined 10 points. It shot the ball poorly in those games. It was out-rebounded in those games. That was the same story in Auburn’s Dec. 3 loss to Appalachian State — a loss that served as the prompt for the ensuing 11-game win streak.

Auburn’s defense gave itself a chance to win all three of those games. But the Tigers didn’t take advantage.

But on Saturday, Auburn finally did.

Inside the locker room, the takeaway will be not about NET rankings, but more on proving what Pearl asked Friday if his team could do: compete for an SEC regular season championship.

It was going to take winning a road game against a team near the top of the SEC standings to prove to Pearl his team was capable of this.

On Auburn’s postgame radio show, Pearl said he didn’t know his team had this type of performance on the road in it. His question had been answered.

Auburn kept pace right behind Alabama in the SEC standings with its win. Alabama entered Saturday one game up in the standings over Auburn. The two will meet again Wednesday in Auburn.

Winning on the road made a point. But a win in Oxford alone isn’t the win the whole season’s resume will hang out. Auburn will need more than one Quad 1 win. The Tigers just finally proved to themselves they can win those games.

“We talked about if we are really going to think about having a chance to compete for the conference championship, really, then we’ve got to win one of these,” Pearl said during his press conference. “Like, one of these that no one else is going to win. I don’t think anybody else is going to come in here and win. Maybe, I’m not sure who the next games are at home. Maybe one of the top three or four teams. So this was a separator for us, and it’s obviously something that is going to give our kids confidence.”

Matt Cohen covers Auburn sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]