'Have to Play, Coach Better': Rebels' Chris Beard Reviews Midweek Loss to No. 14 Alabama
OXFORD, Miss. -- The Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team is riding a three-game losing streak entering their Saturday night road game against the Missouri Tigers, after Chris Beard's squad lost to the No. 14 Alabama Crimson Tide 103-88 on Wednesday night.
The Rebels entered halftime with a lead over Alabama, but momentum quickly swung in the Tide's favor in the final minute of the first half and they kept the pressure on until Ole Miss tied the game around the nine minute mark. Unfortunately, Ole Miss could not keep Alabama in its sights, and the Tide pulled away in six minutes. Beard talked about what went wrong for the Rebels in that stretch during his postgame press conference.
"Untimely turnovers," Beard told reporters. "A couple of wasted offensive possessions, lack of execution, fatigue, whatever you want to call it, the ball just kind of stuck on a night where we were really getting anything we wanted offensively. We [shot] over 50 percent from the floor and mid-30s from three, and got to the free throw line more than [Alabama] so it was the offensive formula to have a chance to win the game.
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"We just can't overcome 14 offensive rebounds given up and 14 or 15 turnovers."
Following Ole Miss' recent loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks, Beard revealed that senior forward Jaemyn Brakefield has been playing through a wrist injury. Despite his injury, Brakefield has manage to record 33 points, 11 rebounds, two assists, and two blocks in the last two games while playing for 63 total minutes.
"I thought [Brakefield] played with a lot of courage," Beard said. "[He] hasn't been able to practice in between these games to let the wrist flare back down. This is a no-excuse program, our doctors are doing a great job with him, Brake deserves most of the credit he's playing banged up.
"But I thought his heart was in the right place. Obviously, he's got to play better. Everybody's got to play better, and we have to coach better as well."
With a woeful February now behind the Rebels, they must prepare for their first battle of March versus Missouri on Saturday night. Missouri is currently ranked dead last in the Southeastern Conference with an abysmal 0-15 record versus league opponents. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. CT in Mizzou Arena and the game will be televised on SEC Network.
