Rebels' Chris Beard Evaluates 'Last Game of Season' vs. Texas A&M
The Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team lost to the Texas A&M Aggies 80-71 in the second round of the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament on Thursday night after nearly mounting a comeback in the final two minutes of play.
While the loss ended Ole Miss' brief tournament trip, Chris Beard was pleased that his team performed better than they did last Saturday when the Rebels lost to the Aggies by more than 20 points at home.
"Much better effort than we had the other day in Oxford," Beard told reporters on Thursday night. "We played Texas A&M three times this year, beat them in College Station, but did not play well at all in Oxford. Thought our guys played really hard tonight and well in a lot of ways."
Beard also covered a critical aspect of the game that has haunted Ole Miss the entire season: rebounding. On Thursday night, A&M outrebounded Ole Miss 48-32, and the Rebels finished the 2023-24 season second to last in the SEC in total rebounds.
"Obviously, rebounding was a challenge for us all season, and our season kind of ended on a note where once again that was a weakness," Beard said. "We'll have to do a better job at coaching that, teaching it, and ultimately, recruit better to it as well. I thought rebounding was the difference in a hard fought game."
The loss to the Aggies not only ended the Rebels' journey in the SEC championship, as it was revealed on Friday that Ole Miss will not be accepting its invite to the NIT this postseason. Beard met with media the same day to give his explanation.
"Yesterday was our last game of the season," Beard said on Friday. “We’re not going to be a candidate to play any of the postseason tournaments. Personally, I have a lot of experience and respect for the NIT. …Simply, I think timing is everything, and the timing’s just not right for our team to continue the season in any of these tournaments.”
The season did not end the way Beard wanted it to, but he is excited to continue building his culture at Ole Miss.
"Lots of positives this year," Beard said. "Ranked in the top 25 several weeks in the [AP] Poll, beat some really good teams along the way who will be playing in March Madness, and established a home court advantage. Just a lot of things in Oxford that I'm really proud of."