TRANSCRIPT: Everything Chris Beard had to say following the Rebels’ 79-76 win over Missouri

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss defeated Missouri 79-76 to pick up the Rebels’ 19th win on the season. After the game, head coach Chris Beard met with media to discuss the game.

Here is everything head coach Chris Beard had to say:

Question: Chris, a couple of days ago you talked about what Matt (Murrell) means to this team, what did his performance mean to this game?

Chris Beard: “Well, it got us off to a great start. He was really aggressive offensively. A lot of respect for how he plays defense, Matt’s an effort guy. To do everything we ask of him and to be guarding like he does, his effort is always on point. I thought Matt was really a calming force tonight in terms of leadership. At halftime, throughout the game, when we were down 9 or 10, you could hear his voice loud and clear.”

Question: Is he (Murrell) 100% right now?

Chris Beard: “This is college basketball in February. I don’t think anybody is 100%. Mat doesn’t have any issues other than a lot of minutes and wear and tear. He’s in elite shape though. He’s an NBA player in terms of his condition, mindset… a lot of intangibles. He got himself in great shape this summer. John Reilly, one of the best who’s ever done this (and our strength and conditioning coach), when John Reilly gives compliments, it’s like Coach (Bob) Knight giving you compliments, they don’t happen much. John is really impressed with Matt, and you guys see, he doesn’t get tired when we need him the most.”

Question: Over nine minutes for Mizzou without a field goal, what impacted Matt’s defense down that stretch?

Chris Beard: “We had some fortune, they missed some shots during that stretch and some free throws, but I think you have to recognize some of the things we were doing defensively. We changed the lineup a little bit, we got aggressive. Defense is not just hoping they miss, defense is you have to take something away, and I thought Austin Nunez probably made the best defensive play of the game. We call that a MIG (most important guy), sometimes you just got to make a play. That’s not coaching, that’s just a guy making a play. I thought during that stretch, when we got back into the game and separated enough to get the win, we were aggressive on defense.”

Question: You guys had no free throws in the first half and 30 in the second half, was that an intentional thing like, “We have to drive and get more paint touches in the second half?”

Chris Beard: “I think that is one of the ways that we did not play well tonight. Again, I’m not taking anything away from Missouri, they’re a good team, they’re well coached, and they stick together. I could talk all day about that, but with our team, we are sitting there at halftime, and we’ve got 30 shots on goal, 17 of them threes, and when you that, you’re not going to get to the bonus. Every once in a while, there will be a special night when the basket just opens up for you, but I thought we had some settle threes. In the second half, we are only shooting three or four three-point shots, so it’s just a tell of two different ways to play the game. We’re not turning down threes, we’re always going to shoot the open three. Anybody who plays for us that is a green light shooter, we want you to pull always, only exception being the last minute of the game. But I thought our approach changed in the second half, we were trying to get to the basket and trying to get to the free-throw line.”

Next Up

Ole Miss will return to action on Wednesday in Starkville at 8 p.m. Hotty Toddy!