Ole Miss Basketball's Chris Beard Points to 'Non-Existent' Defense in Loss to No. 5 Florida

Ole Miss' Chris Beard broke down a 90-71 loss to No. 5 Florida this past Saturday.

Mar 5, 2025; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard reacts against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Wesley Hale-Imagn Images | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

Ole Miss basketball wrapped up the regular season on Saturday, suffering a 90-71 blowout to No. 5 Florida.

The Rebels led for just 39 seconds in Saturday's contest before the Gators would go on a 14-0 run to take control of the lead, a lead they would not relinquish.

"You have to have a defense in the month of March. Our plan was not to have this game in the 90's tonight," Ole Miss head coach Chris beard said in an interview postgame. "In the second half, our defense was just non-existent."

"I always thought that in March, you got to have special performances from your best players. And I think your (Florida) best guard (Walter Clayton Jr.) and your best forward (Alex Condon) filled up the stat sheet tonight."

Ole Miss simply couldn't contain Florida's offense on Saturday, allowing 52 points in the second half. Walter Clayton Jr. had 23 points for the Gators, alongside Alex Condon with 17, with two other Gator's (Alijah Martin with 13 and Will Richard with 10) in double figures on Saturday night.

Ole Miss also had shooting woes on Saturday night, shooting below 40% from both the floor and the three-point line. While a bad shooting night is to be expected every once in a while, pairing it with a poor defensive performance is never a good thing.

"During that time when we were missing some good shots from our perspective, we couldn't get a stop," Beard said. "Some of those possessions are where Clayton (Walter Clayton Jr.) just took over, and was making tough, one-on-one shots. But you've got to be able to absorb that in March."

"The best players are going to have 'March Moments', and your team defense has to be able to hang in there and calm some of those storms," Beard said. "Our offense did not help our defense during some of those runs, and our defense was just non-existent."

You can have a bad offensive night, or a bad defensive night, but you can't have both. Perfection, especially in the SEC, is rare to achieve on both sides of the basketball. And unfortunately for them, the Rebels couldn't achieve it on either side Saturday night.

The Rebels' next matchup comes in the SEC Tournament. Ole Miss will take on the winner of the South Carolina-Arkansas matchup this coming Thursday. Tip-off is set for Noon CT and will be televised on the SEC Network.