This is an opinion column

Auburn walked onto the Bud Walton Arena hardwood in the middle of a red-and-white stripe out, in front of among the most intimidating road environments the SEC has to offer knowing this would be a day to say how far this team has come since its lowest moment of the season.

It left with an 83-51 win over Arkansas. It was Auburn’s (12-2, 1-0) sixth win ever at Bud Walton Arena. And maybe more notably, it was the largest margin of victory for any visitor in the 30-year history of the building.

It was a statement. To do that at any point in the season is impressive. To do it in the first game of the SEC slate is even more so.

But that doesn’t quite explain all of why head coach Bruce Pearl sat back and smiled when AL.com asked him about the criticism he faced about his previous road game.

“It’s never the wrong time to do the right thing,” Pearl said after beating Arkansas. “So playing those teams on the road, nobody does it. Why don’t they do it? Because they’re afraid of getting beat and they’re afraid they’re going to get criticized. I’m too old for that stuff.”

Auburn traveled up into the mountains to play Appalachian State for a Dec. 3 true road game in Boone, North Carolina. It’s highly uncommon for a Power 5 team like Auburn to play a non-conference road game against a mid-major team like Appalachian State.

Pearl has said he did it because it traced back to his coaching roots — knowing how impactful it was when he was at Milwaukee to have big-name teams be willing to play his group. Pearl has said he did it because it would prepare his team for road games to come. That putting his team up against a hostile environment in a game it should win would be beneficial in building the strength of his Tigers.

One problem, Auburn lost.

The thing with a road game against Appalachian State Auburn had hardly anything to gain and far more to lose concerning its NCAA Tournament resume. Had Auburn won, it’s not a relatively big story.

But Auburn lost. Pearl and his program received a significant amount of criticism from national media. The talking heads posited why Auburn would even bother playing a game like that. Why take a risk like that?

For an afternoon like Saturday. That is why.

Auburn shot the ball horribly against Appalachian State. It made only three of 27 3-point attempts. Pearl knew the crowd rattled his team in Boone. And early at Bud Walton Arena, Auburn seemed to trend that way again.

Auburn opened the game 3-15 from the field against Arkansas. Against the Mountaineers, a similar game did in the Tigers.

Against the Razorbacks, the Tigers responded. It’s because Auburn already had road game experience long before entering SEC play.

After Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara made a 3-pointer with just over 12 minutes remaining in the first half, Auburn outscored Arkansas 27-19 before halftime. Baker-Mazara scored seven points himself in the last four minutes of the first half.

His play gave Auburn a spark and momentum going to the locker room.

That momentum turned into Auburm’s most dominant second half of the 2023-24 season.

“I said, ‘Look, we can’t go to App State and not think we can win, and think we’re going to beat Arkansas in the first (SEC) game,’” Pearl said. “‘Really?’ We had some issues at App State and we weren’t able to win the game, but I definitely thought that experience helped us this time around.”

Auburn’s best player, center Johni Broome, bounced back from a first half where he didn’t score at all to drop 14 in the second half. Auburn shot 58% from the field in the second half.

And the Auburn defense only allowed six Arkansas baskets the entire latter period. The Razorbacks shot 22% in the second half.

Auburn won the second half 46-21. It was dominant. It silenced that same Bud Walton Arena crowd and sent Arkansas fans heading for the exits with more than four minutes to go. It led to a very visibly Arkansas head coach Eric Musselman in his post-game press conference.

“Yeah, we stunk,” Musselman said.

Auburn has won all of its seven games since that Appalachian State loss. It’s won those games by an average of 25 points.

Several Auburn players said that loss was a turning point.

“We just told ourselves ‘That’s enough losing,’” Auburn forward Chris Moore said Thursday before Auburn traveled to Arkansas. “We know we should’ve never lost the App State game, but we did.”

In those seven games, Auburn beat Power 5 teams like Indiana and USC, but it was not lost on them that this challenge loomed. Auburn prepared for its trip to Arkansas by blasting crowd noise in practices. On Auburn’s pregame radio show, Pearl said he asked football head coach Hugh Freeze for ideas on simulating noise similar to a football practice. That would imitate what it’s like to not hear Pearl from the bench, as would be the case at Bud Walton Arena.

The motivation and preparation Auburn had when it walked into Bud Walton Arena on Saturday? That’s why Auburn went to Appalachian State. Auburn was ready for Arkansas, was ready to go on the road, because of that supposedly perplexing December day.

That loss at Appalachian State is likely a significant factor in why 31 Associated Press poll voters didn’t include Auburn on their ballots last week. The name on the front of those Appalachian State jerseys left an impression.

But to Pearl? The ends — a win at Arkansas that could wind up being among the top merits of Auburn’s NCAA Tournament resume — justified his means.

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