Bruce Pearl praises play of Auburn veteran Allen Flanigan

Allen Flanigan was a two-year starter for Auburn heading into the season. He had become a constant in Bruce Pearl’s lineups over the past couple years, but has taken on a lighter role off the bench for his senior year.

Pearl took a minute out of his postgame press conference after defeating South Carolina 81-66 on Saturday to discuss Flanigan’s contributions to the team on a nightly basis.

“I think the play of Allen Flanigan will go tremendously unnoticed. Like, Al was once again our best defensive rebounder, Al was once again our best defender,” Pearl said postgame. “He hardly ever got stuck and he continues to stay patient offensively. And he’s unselfish. Again, he plays without a turnover. That’s just him buying in and what a great competitor. He deserves a lot of credit for that.”

Flanigan has only started four games for Auburn this season, averaging 8.6 points and 5.1 rebounds off the bench. Despite his status as a non-starter this season, he’s actually more productive than he was as a junior by about two points and two rebounds each.

He finished Saturday’s game with eight points and 10 rebounds — the second time this season he’s posted double digit rebounding numbers.

Even though Pearl praised his defensive abilities, Flanigan is playing his best offense of the season right now. He has scored eight points in the past two games, but scored in double figures in the four games prior to that. He’s also posted double-digits in the scoring column seven times this season. Auburn is 6-1 in those games.

Flanigan will look for another impressive outing when Auburn takes the court inside Auburn Arena on Wednesday night against a Texas A&M team fresh off its first SEC loss of the season. Tip-off is set for 9 p.m. ET live on ESPN2.