Everything Coach Chris Beard had to say after Rebels’ 81-71 loss to Mississippi State: ‘I just thought we had a lot of softness to us today’

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard met with the media after the Rebels lost 81-71 at home to Mississippi State Saturday, a win for the Bulldogs that gives them the season sweep over Ole Miss. Beard was blunt in his assessment that his team “had a lot of softness” today.

He also did something I haven’t seen before — he sent his entire starting five to the press conference to take questions. So, Malik Dia, Sean Pedula, JuJu Murray, Matthew Murrell and Dre Davis sat at the table together.

For Beard’s part, here’s everything he had to say after the loss.

Question: I guess. First off, a little unusual to have all five starters up here. Is that your call? And was there a thought behind that message-wise?

Chris Beard: I mean, hopefully some of you guys asked questions that needed to be asked.

Question: We asked about rebounding. One of the things that they brought up, too. How much of an issue was that in your mind today?

Chris Beard: It was huge. We got pounded on the glass. We had zero offensive rebounds in the first half. At times during the game we were noncompetitive on the glass.

Question: A couple of the guys, basically all the guys, said that Mississippi State was the more aggressive team most of the game that, uh, that basically they said that’s, you know, I’m not sure what the word was, but unacceptable at this point in the season. Are you surprised on a night like tonight, that State was clearly more aggressive?

Chris Beard: I mean, I wish I could tell you I was surprised, but I wasn’t. I think these last two games, the four halves we played on the road, fortunate to win those games, But, I would agree with the players if they said they weren’t the most aggressive team tonight. I give Mississippi State credit, got good coach, good players. I thought No. 5 Was the difference in the game. You look at his plus-minus winning basketball. You look at the stat sheet on us, we had one guy that had a positive plus-minus today. We got some good minutes from Mikeal off the bench. But you know college basketball is a players game. And you got to have guys show up to play. Ultimately the coach where the coach fits in is it is his responsibility to get the guys ready to play. So, I want to apologize to all the fans that drove into Oxford today to watch this rivalry. We did our best to explain to the guys how important this game was, and we obviously didn’t get it done.

Question: Sean said since really that second half of the Kentucky game, there has kind of been a decline downhill, and he characterized it as complacency. In your eyes is that a fair characterization since since that happened?

Chris Beard: I mean, if complacency is a part of this, then we’ve got some guys that need to do some real soul searching. I mean, complacent for what? Like, what have we done that allows us to be complacent?

Question: Chris, is it an oversimplification to say that they just played with more of a sense of urgency than you guys did?

Chris Beard: I think it’s a fair statement. And it’s hard for me as a coach to say that, but it’s exactly what I told the guys after the game. You know, victory is going to favor the team that’s more aggressive. And this time of year, you know, in the SEC you’re supposed to see two aggressive teams going at it. And then the victory will favor the team with the fewest mistakes once guys, show up to fight. And I thought for a lot of the game, we weren’t a part of the aggressiveness fight. So when you look at that, that’s what rebounding is. That’s what finishing around the basket, you know, demanding that the refs call the fouls. I just thought we had a lot of softness to us today. And that’s not easy for me to say as the coach, because one thing we pride ourselves in, you know, we’re not going to win every game, but we do have an objective that we’re not going to put an effort out there like I thought we put out there today. And again, not taking anything away from Mississippi State, they’re obviously, you could tell their backs are against the wall. They’re chasing wins here down the stretch in mid-February. I thought they have great role definition on their team. I’ve already mentioned No. 5. Just that’s just a winner. I don’t care what the stat line says. Just look at the final number. What you guys say. Plus what? Yeah, I felt it when I was out there. It’s a winning player. You know, for us, again, who brought their A game today for us? And again, I’m not sitting there throwing the players under the bus too. We coach the team, our staff, we’re all in this together. The team obviously wasn’t well-coached today, and the players didn’t perform at the level it’s going to take to beat a team that’s very hungry right now.

Question: Chris, you recently said y’all are kind of looking forward to this midweek break that you’re about to get. What are some of the key things you want to address when you kind of don’t have to play anybody in the midweek.

Chris Beard: Yeah. You look forward to the break after a win and you dread the break after a loss.

Question: Chris, so in that second half you went deeper into your bench and just tried to find a spark. And with Eduardo, specifically, a freshman who’s been in your rotation all year, how do you and the coaching staff kind of just keep his memory short with some of the frantic miscues he had in this game?

Chris Beard: Yeah, I think some of the substitutions tonight were to literally get people out there that, you know, were playing with a sense of pride for Ole Miss. Understood, a lot of people paid money, real money to come to this game today. And again, we’re not going to make every shot. You’re not going to win every game. But you can absolutely control what you can control. And that’s effort, body language, competitiveness. We were lacking a lot of those things. So thought John Bol gave us great minutes. Klafke’s always an energy guy. And then Rob Cowherd, it was great to get Rob. Rob has been battling injuries really his whole career. This year is no different. It was great to see Rob out there contributing today. He could be a big part of what we’re trying to do down the stretch.