It was a career-day for Allen Flanigan against South Carolina.

The sophomore guard finished with a career-high 24 points while shooting 7-of-12 from the floor, 4-of-6 from downtown and a perfect 6-for-6 at the charity strike. Flanigan added six rebounds and four assists in 33 minutes of play. He finished the game +21.

“It's real good to score that well, but I mean it's not about scoring; it's about getting stops and playing defense and us coming out with a win,” Flanigan said after the 109-86 victory.

A 3-star recruit in the class of 2019, Flanigan has always been a player head coach Bruce Pearl has held to a higher standard.

“Allen is just such a productive player. I have a high expectation for Al,” Pearl said. “Al will probably tell you after every game I want more from him than anybody else and he’ll come out with — lead us in rebounding, lead us in field goal percentage, he gets to the foul line and makes them all — I’ll find something wrong with his game because I think he’s a great player. But he sometimes, when he loses focus or stays sharp all the time. I’ve got very high expectations for him. He played great tonight.”

Flanigan’s sophomore surge comes after a freshman season where he played minimally off the bench.

In 2019, Flanigan averaged 3.2 points and 2.7 rebounds per game while playing 13.8 minutes per game. Flanigan shot 39.4% from the floor, 14.3% from beyond the arc and 45.9% at the free-throw line.

This year, Flanigan is averaging 14.4 points per game, 5.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. His shooting percentage has increased across the board, shooting 49% from the floor, 39% from deep and 80% from the free-throw line.

Flanigan says he used the quarantine period over the summer to not only improve his game, but his mindset.

“My mentality and everything had to change in a big way real quick through the summer and through the quarantine phase,” Flanigan said. “Really just being a leader, being a guy that the other guys can look at -- the younger guys -- and really be just following what I do, lead by example. And just be a great teammate.”

Flanigan and the Tigers now return home to take on No. 19 Missouri on Tuesday at 8 p.m. CST.

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