EVERYTHING THEY SAID: Chris Beard and Malik Dia talk after Ole Miss’ 72-68 road win over South Carolina

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The No. 19 Ole Miss men’s basketball team (19-6, 8-4 SEC) earned a hard-fought, 72-68 road victory Wednesday night against South Carolina at Colonial Life Arena. The Rebels forced the Gamecocks (10-14, 0-11 SEC) into a pair of turnovers inside the final 50 seconds and were led by Malik Dia with 18 points on 7-of-12 shooting.

After the game, head coach Chris Beard and Malik Dia met with media. Here’s everything they said: 

Chris Beard Opening Statement:

I thought it was a good road win for our team, free throw differential put a lot of pressure on us to play really well down the stretch, which we did. And I thought the fouls they called on us were fouls. So no complaints there. I thought South Carolina was the most aggressive team for portions of the game. You know, winning times when we played our best the last 4 or 5 minutes of the game, so that’s positives. It’s everything we thought it would be. I know it’s been well documented. This (South Carolina) team is good. It’s well coached. It’s got an NBA player on it. They’ve been in a lot of games like this. They’re going to win games in this league. Just happy it wasn’t at our expense tonight, but a lot of respect for South Carolina, their coaching staff. I followed this program in recent history when Frank was here, a good friend of mine. So nothing but respect for the opponent. You know, our guys, it’s hard to win on the road in the SEC. I thought we could never really get into a rhythm offensively or defensively tonight, and I think a big reason that was South Carolina. So a lot of respect for them. Any questions for Malik Dia?

Question: Hey, Malik, your last six minutes or so were just phenomenal. A lot of big shots. Putting the team ahead, tying the game up. And especially, what were you thinking about on that three there with a couple minutes to go that kind of put you guys ahead for good.

Malik Dia: Yeah. coach coach called a play and I just stepped up and knocked down the shot, but ultimately it’s just him having the confidence in me to to run that play. And, you know, just an unbelievable blessing to be out there in winning time. You know, I think a lot of us take these games for granted, just, you know, playing SEC basketball each and every day. I think it’s it’s something that a lot of people don’t get to do. So just coming out and playing in that time and just, you know, just knowing, time and score and when to be aggressive and when to get to the paint.

Question: Malik, in that first half, I think in the first 16 minutes of the game, you guys had an effective field goal shooting percentage of about 85% and making a lot of what you were taking. What did it look like out there on the floor for you guys to be able to get enough open shots and to be able to take advantage early on?

Malik Dia: Yeah, we have a lot of good players on our team. And I don’t think the media or nation knows that. Like we have a lot of, you know, really good players. This team has recruited really well by coach. So we just, whoever’s night it is is just their night. And I feel like there’s a lot of different weapons that we can use. And it was spaced out a lot. You know, DB gave us a lot of good stuff. Matt did, everybody contributed. So it was amazing.

Question: Malik, South Carolina forced 21 fouls against you and they shot 32 free throws. What can you say about their aggressiveness tonight?

Malik Dia: Yeah a very physical team. guarding Murray-Boyles is you know, a problem. Really good player. They’re big. Nick Pringle, he was really tough to guard as well. I think their mindset was getting to the paint. We noticed that we were taking a lot more tough shots and jumpers, and they were getting to the paint a lot more easier. So our mindset, switched in the second half, and we try to be the aggressor.

Question: Malik, how do you and your teammates stay focused game after game, especially in this league where you know a team that hasn’t won a league game yet takes you guys to the wire?

Malik Dia: Yeah, this team, I mean, we’re trying to do something special, something that’s never happened in Oxford. And we all know that. We work hard. We have great preparation from coach. People don’t know how many hours he spends just watching film and and trying to get us prepared for the games. And he told us that this wasn’t going to be a easy one, especially knowing South Carolina. You know, they fight each and every game. But overall, my teammates, we just want to do something really special. I think we’re all starting to buy into it, and it’s just something special that we all have.

Coach Chris Beard – Questions and Answers

Question: Coach, just having Malik step up like that, like he did down the stretch when it looked like, you know, some teams might fold after giving up a double digit lead and just having that leadership there to kind of lead the way, that must have been something special for you guys.

Coach Beard: It was a step in the right direction, I think, for Dia’s, not only season, but career. You know, we coach Dia hard, a lot of players around the country probably wouldn’t want to or could, take the high expectations we put on him. It’s no reason other than we we believe in him. We think there’s a ceiling for him that could take our team to another level. And so for him to not play his best for most of the game, was in foul trouble, some of it, I think, was self-inflicted. But then to come out there and have the poise, confidence, whatever you want to call it, belief in himself, to play his best in winning time, the last 4 or 5 six minutes of the game, I think was a great step for him. Something he can pull back from as his career goes on.

Question: Coach, shot the lights out in the first half, and then South Carolina was able to get a lot of stops, specifically through about the first 14 minutes of the second half. What, from your perspective, what do you think maybe changed on that side of the floor for them to be able to maybe give you a little more trouble and discomfort than in the first?

Coach Beard: Yeah. I thought in terms of our defense, South Carolina was just kind of imposing their will on us. They were committed to the high low. They were committed to getting inside. I think even in the first half, their last nine possessions of the half, they got the ball in the paint. And we had to do something crazy. You know, Coach Pitino is a friend of mine, and saw something this week, actually, where his team had, I believe Louisville, they went to the Final Four. They were playing in Albuquerque against West Virginia. And I just couldn’t guard them. Pittsnogle I think, was his name, really good team. And, the story goes, I wasn’t in the locker room, but, I believe Coach Pitino to be a truth teller. So story goes, they just kind of drew up a zone at halftime or went back to man to man. Either or. I think they might have been a zone team. They went back to man to man, but basically just drew it up on the board at halftime. That’s kind of what we did tonight. I mean, to, to steal a couple possessions in a 3-2 zone look, just to basically try to keep the ball out of the paint. I thought that was a big part of the game. And our players’ willingness to believe and try some new things. They just were in a rhythm where we, we couldn’t keep the ball out of the paint, so we had to pull out the clipboard or dry erase board and try something different.

Question: Chris, how do you guys in the coaching profession here in the SEC get any sleep at all? Because it seems like especially this year, this league is just a monster, game after game where even, you know, people who are struggling to win games can just kind of fight and take you to the wire.

Coach Beard: Yeah, we don’t get much sleep, but I’ve never been a big fan of putting the coach or the player on a different kind of pedestal because how they work. My mom was a cross worker for an elementary school, and she woke up every day and took the kids across the street. And she went back at 3:00 when school ended. And, she had to take care of my old man at night, so she didn’t get much sleep, ever. And nobody asked her about it. So, I think everybody works in college basketball. I’ve always had a hard time with “that guy’s a real grinder.” I mean, who doesn’t grind in this profession? But, you know, sleep is precious. You know, in the SEC, we get the one bye week, and ours is coming up, I believe, after our next game. And, we certainly don’t look too far ahead, but it wouldn’t be truthful to tell you that everybody in our program knows when that bye week is so we can just get a couple days off and a little bit more sleep.

Question: Coach, you mentioned the free throw discrepancy in South Carolina being aggressive and getting to the line a lot. At a certain point in the second half, what do you kind of tell your team to try to help them adjust to maybe that physicality and try to be able to do what you can to to keep them off the free throw line?

Coach Beard: Yeah. First of all, I mean, no complaints on the other side of the floor. I thought we were fouling. I thought they were demanding the foul. You know, call it a 50-50 call. Give credit to their player making it a 50-50 call. So I just thought the discrepancy on the other end is where we were a little frustrated. But our guys did a good job keeping our poise and continue to try to drive the ball to the basket. It looked to me like South Carolina was committed to taking away our three point shot tonight, and we only got 13 or 14 attempts. But we made a made a high percentage. It’s really the difference in the game. They outrebounded us. They got to the free throw line. The turnovers were even. But I think our ability to to use the three point shot and manufacture a few more points in what was ultimately a one possession game was really the difference in the game. Offensive rebounding was nonexistent for us most of the game. But when we needed it most, we came up with some second-possession opportunities late. We’ve got to be a better offensive rebounding team than we were tonight for the first 35 minutes of the game. But I give South Carolina a lot of credit. I know they’ve been in a lot of games like this, and it just seems like every night it’s the same narrative. But that’s a well-coached team with good players that has an identity on offense and identity on defense. They’re hard to guard. They present challenges for your offense. So I’m pleased we won tonight. There’s there’s nothing no asterisk next to this. We knew this was going to be really, really hard. We expected a one possession game. That’s what we got.