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Men’s Basketball 1/19/2024 7:30:00 PM By: Greg Ostendorf

No. 13 Auburn hosts No. 22 Ole Miss in rare top 25 matchup
AUBURN, Ala. – For the first time since last January, Auburn will host a top 25 matchup in Neville Arena on Saturday. The Tigers, ranked No. 13 nationally, will welcome in No. 22 Ole Miss and first-year head coach Chris Beard.

It’s the first game in series history where both teams will be ranked.

“I think it’s obviously what Coach Beard and what I have worked toward, and that is to try to have an Ole Miss-Auburn game with two ranked opponents, which has never happened,” Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said. “That’s crazy. It’s never happened. That’s what we both have worked really hard to try to achieve.

“This is a really talented (Ole Miss) roster,” Pearl continued. “Coach Beard has done a great job in his first year in the league as they have only lost two games on the road at LSU and at Tennessee.

“They’ve got four guys in (Jaylen) Murray, (Matthew) Murrell, (Allen) Flanigan and (Jaemyn) Brakefield that are all four on the top of their games. Three of the four are seniors – just older players, guys who have been around the league a long time. You can make an argument that they’re going to be thought of as one of the better players in the league at their position.”

One of those names should sound familiar to Auburn fans as Allen Flanigan will make his return to Neville Arena after playing the last four seasons with the Tigers. This season, he’s averaging 16.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game at Ole Miss.

“It will be good to see Allen,” Auburn senior Jaylin Williams said. “I haven’t seen him or Coach Flan (Wes Flanigan) in a while. It will be fun. It will be a little chippy, some talk, but at the end of the day, that’s still my brother.”

Like Flanigan, Williams is playing some of his best basketball right now. He’s averaging 15.8 points per game and shooting 69.9 percent from the field during Auburn’s current 10-game winning streak. With 21 points in Auburn’s win at Vanderbilt on Wednesday, he now has five 20-point games over his last 10 contests.

No. 13 Auburn and No. 22 Ole Miss will tip off at 7:30 p.m. CT from Neville Arena. Andy Burcham and Sonny Smith have the radio call on 94.3 FM, online at AuburnTigers.com and on the Auburn app. The game will be televised on SEC Network.

AUBURN, AL – JANUARY 09 – Auburn’s Dylan Cardwell (44), Auburn’s Tre Donaldson (3) during the game between the #16 Auburn Tigers and the Texas A&M Aggies at Neville Arena in Auburn, AL on Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024.Photo by Zach Bland/Auburn Tigers

PLAYER TO WATCH DYLAN CARDWELL

Senior center Dylan Cardwell recorded a career-high 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting at Vanderbilt on Wednesday. Over the last eight games, Cardwell is averaging 7.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 76.7 percent from the floor. He leads the team in dunks (24) this season and has made 91 during his four-year career.

INSIDE THE SERIES: OLE MISS

This will be the 146th all-time meeting between Auburn and Ole Miss. The Tigers hold an 81-64 advantage and are 53-17 in games played on the Plains.

Auburn has won four straight in the series and is 8-4 in the last 12 games vs. the Rebels. The two sides have split the 12 meetings in Neville Arena, though the Tigers have won three of the last four. Prior to that stretch, Ole Miss was winners of 10 straight and 13 of the last 15.

Ranked Auburn teams are 14-3 in the series all-time, including a 9-0 mark when the game is played on its home court, while ranked Ole Miss teams are 4-2 in the series.

RANKED MATCHUPS AT NEVILLE

Saturday’s showdown will be the eighth matchup between ranked teams in Neville Arena history (2010-present). Auburn is 6-1 in those previous ranked matchups and has won the last five, including a 72-59 win over Arkansas last season.