Coach Chris Beard talks about the Rebels’ 89-72 win over Southern Miss
OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head men’s basketball coach Chris Beard met with the media after the Rebels defeated Southern Miss 89-72 in Biloxi on Saturday and moved to 12-0.
“I just want to wish Southern Miss the best this season,” Beard said. “I have a lot of respect for (head coach) Jay (Ladner). We are friends. When we got the Ole Miss job, that was one of the first things we thought about doing (playing this game). It is the right thing to do for basketball and the state of Mississippi.”
Beard added that Southern Miss had an incredible season last year.
“To coach at that level and be a second-weekend tournament team,” he said. “To coach at that level is so hard to punch that automatic ticket to get in. This season, they are right back after fighting adversity early on and they are going to be a real force in their conference.”
In the game, Ole Miss jumped out early on Southern Miss.
“We played well today. The first half was one of our better 20-minute segments at Ole Miss…We had a lot of respect for Southern Miss, and we knew that they were going to compete. They are that type of a team. In the second half, it showed the character of Southern Miss basketball. They outplayed us in the last twenty minutes; that didn’t surprise me. Jay’s teams play a full 40 minutes.”
Chris Beard on the game
Ole Miss took on Southern Miss down on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, which had special meaning to Coach Beard.
“It was really important for us to come down to the coast,” Beard said. “For me, Biloxi is important to me. My dad was stationed down here. He was in the Air Force, my mom would come here with my dad on family vacations, and we would stay here for a few days.”
Since Beard arrived on campus at Ole Miss, he has looked to build the culture of the program.
“Each year we have several objectives in our non-conference schedule. We want to play good teams and teams that prepare us for SEC play, teams similar to what we might see in the NCAA tournament and postseason,” Beard explained. “That’s exactly how we felt about Southern Miss. I think within hours of me getting the job Jay and I exchanged texts and thought early on this game would make a lot of sense for both programs.”
Beard added that the Southern Miss team they faced on Saturday was a tough team and one that will compete for their conference championship.
Coach Beard was appreciative of all the Rebel fans at the game.
“We have a lot of fans down here on the coast,” Beard said. “I really appreciate the attendance. We had a lot of Ole Miss fans out in support. I can’t thank you enough, especially a couple of days before Christmas.”
Ole Miss is undefeated on the season with one more non-conference matchup on the schedule before stepping into SEC play.
“From the first day that our team was together in the spring to the fall, we are just continuing to grow,” Beard said. “We are definitely a work in progress. I think over these first 12 games we have shown improvement and that we can play good basketball — whether it be on the road, with two true road wins, whether it be neutral site games, Top 25 games, teams from the ACC or the PAC-12,” Beard said.
“We have put our guys through a lot these first 12 games and shown a lot of signs of improvement. A lot of growth is yet to be accomplished if we are going to have the type of season we like to have in conference play. After 12 games, I am really proud of our players, the sacrifice that has gone into our program. We have had good practices.”
Coach Beard
Against Southern Miss, the Rebels went 11-for-19 from beyond the arc for the third consecutive game with 10 or more threes. For the fifth time this season and third consecutive game, the Rebels made at least 10 shots from three-point range, going 11-19. Jaylen Murray tied his career-high with five makes from deep, while Matthew Murrell hit four. Murrell finished with a season-high and game-best 26 points, as Jaylen Murray added 21.
“We have different weapons offensively we have good shooters on this year’s team,” Beard said. “Guys that have earned the right to make shots in games by what they do on a day-to-day basis, whether it be team practice or evening shooting, morning individual workouts. I have a lot of confidence on our three-point shooters on this year’s team.”
Next Up:
The Rebels will play one final game in the 2023 calendar year, and their final non-conference game of the season, when they host Bryant on Sunday, December 31 for a 3 p.m. game in the SJB Pavilion on the SEC Network.
Feature image credit: Caleb Salers
Adam Brown
Adam Brown joins The Rebel Walk as the Managing Editor after being on the Ole Miss beat as a Sports Editor for over 11 years. He is a lifelong Oxford resident. Brown graduated from the University of Mississippi with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
Prior to The Rebel Walk, Brown was the sports editor of HottyToddy.com covering every Ole Miss sport and local high school sports in the community.
