'Worthy Of a Good Crowd!' Rebels' Chris Beard Reflects on 2023-24 Season Ahead of Senior Night
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels are set to close out their 2023-24 regular season slate on Saturday afternoon in the Sandy and John Black Pavilion, and Chris Beard's squad is looking to end their campaign on a positive note after posting a 7-10 record since conference play started in January.
Ole Miss lost its midweek road matchup versus the Georgia Bulldogs on Tuesday, and the season is coming to a quiet end after the Rebels started the year 13-0. This group has still made significant strides in Beard's first season, however, after finishing 2023 with a 13-19 record.
Beard took time to reflect on the aspects of Ole Miss basketball that have improved since the season began during his press conference on Wednesday.
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"It'll be time to reflect on all of this stuff after the season," Beard told reporters. "But there's no denying that we've increased attendance, we've improved the [home-court] environment in the games, we've had great support from our students - I know Saturday is going to be a challenge with spring break happening, but we're just asking everybody to please come support the team."
Beard knows it is hard to show up and support when your team has fallen out of tournament projections, but he hopes fans will stay come out to support his players on senior night.
"I know it's a lot easier to do when you're playing that last home game trying to win the SEC regular season championship," Beard said. "That's not the reality we're in right now, but I do think these players are worthy of a good crowd on Saturday. These guys have tried. [Jaemyn Brakefield] and [Matthew Murrell] are going to graduate from Ole Miss in the spring.
"We're just hoping we can have a great final home game this season."
The Rebels will return to the SJB Pavilion on Saturday for their final regular season matchup of 2024 versus the Texas A&M Aggies. Tip-off is set for 1:00 p.m. CT on Saturday and the game will be televised on CBS.
