This stat will play a significant role in Auburn's matchup with Ole Miss

The Auburn Tigers have a big game coming up against Ole Miss. 

The Tigers are currently 4-0 in SEC play and will play host to Ole Miss on Saturday, looking to pick up a ranked win in Neville Arena. It will be an exciting ball game as Auburn will welcome home former wing, Allen Flanigan and coach Wes Flanigan. Flanigan is averaging 16.5 points a game, to go with seven rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.6 steals, and 0.9 blocks. Auburn has to understand that Wes Flanigan will have a plan for this game as he knows Coach Bruce Pearl's system well, making this a matchup to watch.  

One stat that will play a role in this game is blocks. The Auburn Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels are some of the best shot-blocking teams in all of college basketball. Ole Miss is third in blocks per game in college hoops, blocking 6.6. Auburn is 11th in this same stat, blocking 5.6 shots per game. These two teams finding a way to score around the rim is a very interesting aspect of this game. It will be hard for the guards of both teams to score among the trees. You can expect each team's rim protection to play a factor in this game. 

Dylan Cardwell is a big part of Auburn's shot-blocking ability, and Coach Pearl had this to say about Cardwell after the win over Vanderbilt, "Dylan (Cardwell) is just a monster at the rim and did a great job of getting out of ball screen," Pearl said. "Defensively, he (Cardwell) doesn't take a possession off ever."

This is going to be an exciting back and forth basketball game on the Plains with a ton of narratives. The Tigers will look to move to 5-0 in SEC play if they can get this win.