Chris Beard's Take: Ole Miss Basketball 'Will Not Quit' Amid Historic Losing Streak

Beard and Co. drop their seventh consecutive contest, Bulldogs take home the victory in Oxford.

Jan 31, 2026; Nashville, TN, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard watches against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

OXFORD, Miss. – Hosting their in-state rival and looking to sweep the two-game series, the men's basketball team was unable to secure a win, dropping a 90-78 contest on Saturday in the SJB Pavilion.

Mississippi State (12-13, 4-8 SEC) got off to a quick start in the first half, going out in front 13-3 at the 15:19 mark. Ole Miss (11-14, 3-9 SEC) would battle back to cut the Bulldogs' lead to 24-21, with under 10 minutes left on the clock.

However, the Bulldogs would ride its 62.1% first-half field goal percentage to a 62-45 advantage headed into the break.

In the second half, Mississippi State continued to fend off the Rebels, as Ole Miss shot over 50 percent from the field but was unable to go out in front.

Ole Miss will travel to Reed Arena in College Station, Texas, to take on Texas A&M on Wednesday, February 18, at 6 p.m. The game will be televised on the SEC Network.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Rebels Basketball.

NOTABLES
- Malik Dia scored 32 points, tying his career high and setting a new best for his time at Ole Miss.
- AJ Storr tied his career high in assists with five tonight.
- Ole Miss had just six turnovers against Mississippi State, which marked the 16th game this season with 10 or fewer turnovers and 11th of their 12 SEC games.

Chris Beard's Take:

“Physically and mentally we have to be tougher,” said Ole Miss coach Chris Beard. “Tonight required toughness. MSU is tough. They got the 50-50 balls. We were not physical enough. We just did not play tough mentally or physically. When things didn’t go our way, we didn’t hang in there tough. Missing those early shots even affected out defense. We just did not play tough enough.

“We just have to keep chipping away. Fight through the adversity. Tonight, we did not fight through it. We are doing everything in our power to teach guys how to win, but we aren’t getting through to some of them. MSU was just tougher than us tonight.

“I have never been through a skid like this, but we are going to play this season to the bone. We will not quit. We will continue to get ready to play each game. We are facing a big challenge. I’m appreciative of our fans coming out and I’m sorry we did not respond for them.”

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