Chris Beard Not Focused on Momentum in Ole Miss Basketball's '18-Round Fight'

The Ole Miss Rebels pulled off a gritty win on their home floor in another tight SEC game on Wednesday night, taking down the Texas Longhorns 72-69 in another game that came down to a final shot in the closing seconds.

This gave Ole Miss a much-needed win entering a tough stretch of its schedule, one that begins this weekend at home against the No. 1 Auburn Tigers. Head coach Chris Beard understands this league and how much depth it possess as the Rebels were able to get the victory after a three-game skid.

Still, Beard isn't too concerned with positive momentum just yet. He's taking things one game at a time.

“This is an 18-round fight. I don’t know much about momentum," Beard said postgame on Wednesday. "We’re just trying to put ourselves in a position to have some good practices and give the guys the best possible game plan we can, be prepared and confident to try and play our best on game night. I've always thought it was kind of too early for that too.

"Personally, I've always thought you get through the first round of conference play, and then you kind of see where you're at. What's it going to take to win the league?"

After the matchup against Auburn on Saturday, the Rebels are set to host the No. 12 Kentucky Wildcats to conclude a three-game homestand. Ole Miss will then hit the road on Feb. 8 to face the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge.

"Tough stretch for us, but again, lots of good basketball against quality opponents during that stretch," Beard said. "Just trying to remind the guys the sun's going to come up tomorrow, and we've got another chance to play SEC basketball.”

Throughout the "18-round fight" of the SEC, teams are going to get punched in the mouth, and one player in particular wanted to prove himself in Wednesday night's win. In last week's matchup with Texas A&M, Devon Barnes found himself at the line with a one-and-one opportunity that he couldn't cash in, eventually playing a role in the Rebels' last-second loss.

On Wednesday, however, he found himself in the same situation with the game on the line, sinking both free throws and putting all the pressure on the Horns.

Beard gave Barnes his props and commended him on his work ethic after a tough showing from the line just a week ago.

"A lot of confidence in Barnes," Beard said. "He puts in the time…It was two games ago, I leave here and go to the Touhy basketball facility like we do every night and the ball bouncing, and Barnes is on that free throw line.

"When you see that as a coach, you're just really proud of that because that's how life works too. When things don't go your way, you can take your ball and go home and start making excuses, or you can get back in the gym and start practicing."

The Rebels found a way on Wednesday, but the challenge is just getting started with the top-ranked Auburn Tigers coming to Oxford on Saturday for one of the most anticipated matchups in the Chris Beard era. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPN.