Auburn, Bruce Pearl preparing for Allen Flanigan’s return to Neville Arena

Pearl hopes that Auburn fans and students remember that Flanigan is an “Auburn man” as he returns to the Plains as a member of Ole Miss’ squad.

The No. 11 Auburn Tigers return to Neville Arena on Saturday to face No. 21 Ole Miss for a key SEC matchup in an unhinged environment.

There is zero doubt that Auburn fans, as well as The Jungle, will make the Rebels’ trip to Neville Arena a challenging one, but there is one aspect of the game that head coach [autotag]Bruce Pearl[/autotag] hopes that the crowd will be sensitive to.

[autotag]Allen Flanigan[/autotag], who averaged 8.5 points and 4.2 rebounds per game in 114 total games over four years as a forward for Auburn from 2019-23, is set to return to the Plains on Saturday as a member of Ole Miss’ roster. Pearl says that he hopes that fans in attendance show gratitude and respect to Flanigan on his first trip back to Auburn.

“I would like our students and The Jungle to remember that Allen (Flanigan) graduated from Auburn and is an Auburn man,” Pearl said following Auburn’s 80-65 win over Vanderbilt on Wednesday. “I hope they welcome him accordingly.”

Flanigan is having a successful season for the Rebels to this point. He has started in all 17 games this season and averages 16.5 points per contest. He has scored at least 10 points in all but one of Ole Miss’ games this season, and recently scored 20 points in the Rebels loss to LSU on Wednesday in Baton Rouge.

Auburn hosts Ole Miss in a top-25 battle on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. CT and can be seen on SEC Network.

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