The Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball team came up short yet again on Valentine's Day, falling 90-78 to their rivals, the Mississippi State Bulldogs, at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion in Oxford. This is the Rebels' longest losing streak this season as they drop to 11-14 overall and 3-9 in conference play.
The Rebels fell behind early in the game, trailing 47-28 at halftime, and shot 42% from the field overall in the game against a red-hot Bulldogs team that shot 58% from the field.
Head coach Chris Beard did not hold back against his team's play of late.
"Physically and mentally we have to be tougher," Beard said. "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 ... We just did not play tough enough."
Here are three takeaways from the Rebels' loss to the Bulldogs:
1. Fell into an Early Hole
Ole Miss trailed 13-3 in the opening minutes of the game and trailed by 19 points at halftime, 47-28 after a 16-2 run by the Bulldogs.
Playing from behind limited the Rebels' ability to control tempo and forced them into quicker shots. However, the Rebels did cut the lead to single digits in the second half, but it wasn't enough to pull off a miraculous comeback and the win.
2. Lack of Offense
Forward Malik Dia tied his career high with 32 points, while AJ Storr finished with 21 points for the Rebels. No other player on the team scored more than six points.
The Bulldogs' offense was key to winning this game against the Rebels. They played more aggressively and defended the rim to limit scoring chances for the Rebels.
3. A Runaway Game
Mississippi State shot 33-for-57 (58%) from the field and 11-for-24 from the three-point line (46%) while Ole Miss shot 27-for-65 from the field (42%) and 8-for-26 from three-point range (31%), showing that they couldn't keep up with the pace of the game. The Bulldogs also capitalized on turnovers, transition play, and converted second-chance points.
Beard emphasized that while the Rebels are struggling, they have remained committed to still finishing strong throughout the rest of the season.
"We will not quit," he said. "We will continue to get ready to play each game."
With six games remaining in the season for the Rebels (two being away games and four being home games), they'll look to improve on their offense and put their long seven-game losing streak to bed against Texas A&M on Wednesday. The game will start at 6 p.m. on SEC Network and ESPN+.