Chris Beard Evaluates Matthew Murrell's Return For Ole Miss Basketball

Guard Matthew Murrell returned to action for the Rebels on Saturday night.

Dec 3, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Mississippi Rebels guard Matthew Murrell (11) dribbles against Louisville Cardinals guard Terrence Edwards Jr. (5) during the first half at KFC Yum! Center. Mississippi defeated Louisville 86-63. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images | Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

Ole Miss Rebels guard Matthew Murrell missed the last three games his team played before Saturday, but against Queens, he finally returned to the floor and provided some solid production in the 80-62 win.

Murrell played over 20 minutes for Ole Miss, registering 10 points, six rebounds and three assists as the Rebels won their final non-conference game before the Christmas holiday. He was also 4-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from three.

It didn't appear that Ole Miss' star veteran guard experienced much rust on Saturday, but how did head coach Chris Beard evaluate his return performance?

"That's kind of the story of the game for us, to get Matt to 22 minutes tonight," Beard said postgame. "He picked up where he left off. He had 10 points, six rebounds, three assists and zero turnovers after not playing for a couple weeks.

"He was kind of on a minute restriction tonight, so we kept him right where the doctors wanted us to. That's hard to do when you haven't played for a while to come out there and play well."

When Murrell missed his first game of this stretch on Dec. 7, an Ole Miss spokesperson referred to his ailment as a "lower body injury," and it has taken the Rebels star a couple of weeks to get back into action. Now that he is returning to the floor (even if it is in a limited role to start), that's a big boost for Ole Miss as it winds down non-conference play and looks ahead to SEC action.

The Rebels are off until Saturday, Dec. 28 when they travel to take on the Memphis Tigers in Murrell's hometown. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2. Following that game, Ole Miss will prepare for SEC action when it hosts Georgia on Jan. 4.