Bruce Pearl knows that No. 1 Auburn will be challenged at Vanderbilt as the Tigers try to bounce back from their first Southeastern Conference loss on Tuesday in Nashville, Tenn.A 90-81 defeat to Florida on Saturday was also Auburn’s first home loss since Feb. 17, 2024, but it didn’t drop the Tigers (21-2, 9-1 Southeastern Conference) from their perch atop the Top 25.Vanderbilt (17-6, 5-5) has built a 12-1 home record after knocking off Texas 86-78 on Saturday. The Commodores’ lone home loss came Jan. 7 against then-No. 14 Mississippi State.”You’ve got to embrace the grind,” Pearl said. “There’s no question it’s a grind. It’s a grind for everybody. We go to Vanderbilt where they’ve only lost once at home and have beaten Kentucky, Texas and Tennessee. We know that is going to be a tough place to win.”Auburn senior forward Johni Broome leads five Tigers players in double figures with 18.1 points per game. He also pulls down a team best 10.9 rebounds. He had 18 points, 11 rebounds and six assists against Florida and Miles Kelly scored a game-high 22 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Gators’ sharp shooting.Even though the Tigers had their 14-game winning streak snapped, Pearl saw the potential for a loss was creeping up on the horizon.”We’ve had greater effort-energy or have matched the effort-energy of every team that we’ve played,” Pearl said. “I knew we were due for a letdown.”Against Texas, Vanderbilt overcame a 39-35 halftime deficit to scrap their way to victory. Neither team lit it up from the field — both barely shot 40 percent from the floor — but the Commodores held a 25-11 advantage in second-chance points.