Bruce Pearl claims Ole Miss is a rivalry game for Auburn

Fresh off a 78-74 win over Ole Miss on Wednesday, Auburn coach Bruce Pearl raised some eyebrows when he called the matchup a rivalry game for his program.

It’s unclear whether Pearl made the comment moreso in the context of the SEC’s three permanent opponents or in the more traditional sense, but it was interesting nonetheless.

“Ole Miss is a rival, too,” Pearl said. “We play them twice. I think we beat them twice last year, beat them twice this year. So beating Ole Miss four times in a row, that’s significant.”

The Rebels are, in fact, one of the three permanent double fixtures on the Auburn SEC schedule, along with Alabama and Georgia.

In any case, it was clear that Pearl was plenty impressed by the Rebels in the ‘rivalry game.’

“Kermit (Davis) does a great job,” Pearl said. “You take that Ole Miss team, you put them in a good league, not a great league, a good SEC, not a great SEC, and they’re in the middle of the league. But the last couple years this league’s been something else.”

Auburn vying for NCAA Tournament seeding

ESPN’s Joe Lunardi currently has Auburn as a No. 10 seed and falling in his latest bracketology projection.

The Tigers have flirted with the bubble at various points this season but figure to be in pretty good shape now with 19 wins and nine wins in SEC play.

But the home stretch could really cement the Tigers as a solid NCAA Tournament team.

Due up are road trips to Kentucky and No. 2 Alabama, followed by a home finale against No. 11 Tennessee.

“Last thing I’ll say is it’s hard to beat all the teams you’re supposed to beat, and this team has come pretty close to that,” Pearl said. “Now let’s see if we can somehow play better down the stretch and beat some of the best teams on our schedule.”

Auburn and Kentucky will tip off Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on CBS.