Frankly, Chris Moore didn’t think Auburn played that badly in its loss to Appalachian State on Dec. 3. They just didn’t shoot the ball well, he said. And to an extent, he’s right. Auburn made just three of 27 3-point shots in the loss. The Tigers missed more free throws (10) than they made (9).

But head coach Bruce Pearl believes it was more than just a bad shooting day.

“I did think the environment at App State affected our play,” Pearl said Thursday. “I do — it affected our play. It may have elevated App State’s play.”

The trip to Boone, North Carolina, was Auburn’s first — and to this point, only — true road game this season. The idea was to get this Auburn team in front of a hostile road crowd against a team it would be expected to beat. It would help Auburn prepare for tougher road tests to come — highlighted by the eventual SEC opener at Arkansas.

“Well, you know, the App. State game was an ESPN game,” center Johni Broome said. “They had a lot of fans. They had a sold-out crowd. Having a sold-out crowd, that elevates their game as well. It was good for us to have that experience that early.”

One problem, Auburn didn’t beat Appalachian State.

But in that loss, Auburn may have done more good than harm. Auburn got the road experience it wanted. It also served as a turning point.

“After that App State loss, I think everybody just locked in,” Auburn center Johni Broome said after the Tigers beat Penn on Tuesday.

Certainly, that’s what Auburn has done. Auburn was won six straight games since the App State loss and every single one has been in blowout fashion. The Tigers (11-2) have played their best basketball of the young season, winning in multiple different ways with the different skill sets a deep roster provides.

But that Arkansas game is here now. Auburn will tip off SEC play at 1 p.m. Saturday in an always rowdy Bud Walton Arena. The game will be aired on ESPN2.

Pearl hopes the lessons his team learned in Boone will carry over. In front of more than 19,000 people, they’ll have to.

“Great homecourt advantages do two things: one, it can elevate the level of play of the home team,” Pearl said. “And it’s always elevated Arkansas’ play. Neville Arena elevates our play; it just does. Sometimes the environment can also be a factor with the opponent. We see it in Jordan-Hare Stadium every year. We see it every year.”

So what does it take to win against a crowd like that?

It will take communication.

Similar to that of a football team working on its hard-count before going into a road game, Auburn will have to know what its running without being able to hear Pearl.

“We rely on communication a great deal — both the players out there on the floor communicating with each other through coverages,” Pearl said. “They won’t hear each other nearly as well, so they’ve got to be able to read body languages and things along those lines. They won’t be able to hear me, so play-calling will be challenging. So they’re going to have to pay closer attention in an adverse situation.”

Pearl and his players have commented frequently on second-half defense being an area of focus heading into SEC play. It’s harder, they say, to run their defense schemes and make on-court adjustments because they can’t hear Pearl calling out from Auburn’s bench on the far side of the court.

Against Appalachian State, Pearl believes it impacted Auburn. That his players were rattled by that crowd and it showed in their play. Generally, Auburn’s defense was not the reason why it lost against Appalachian State.

But the crowds will only get tougher. The offenses Auburn will face will only get better.

Auburn enters SEC play with one of the most balanced rosters in the country. It has depth with a true 11-man rotation.

“We always preach our 11 vs. everybody’s seven or eight,” Moore said Thursday.

Auburn is also ranked in the top 10 for both offensive and defensive efficiency ratings, according to KenPom. Arkansas, despite a roster that Pearl has called the most talented Auburn has faced this season, has struggled to start the season and is ranked 59th overall in KenPom. The Razorbacks are 84th in defensive efficiency, but arguably have played a tougher schedule than Auburn with games against Duke, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Memphis. Arkansas went 1-3 in those games.

The only win, an 80-75 victory over Duke, was the only one of those four games played at Bud Walton Arena. That home court advantage matters.

“If our play gets affected adversely at Arkansas,” Pearl said of the Razorback crowd. “We’ll get run out.”

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