Surprisingly, Chris Beard's 'survive and advance' mantra is working out in favor of Ole Miss, as the Rebels pulled off another stunner against Georgia on Thursday night. Ole Miss fought it out till the very last second on the clock against the Bulldogs, and came out winning in the 76-72 down-to-the-wire game.
It was exactly the type of pleasant surprise the Rebel Nation needed coming off the worst tailspin their program had seen in years.
The party's on Chris Beard
To celebrate it, Beard had an equally pleasant surprise planned for his locker room to celebrate with.
The celebratory dinner is on Beard, as he is taking out the boys to the Hall Steakhouse in Nashville. "These guys continue to play for Ole Miss. I'm proud of them. The fans are proud of them," said Beard post-win.
The chances of Ole Miss actually having a run were next to impossible without winning the SEC Tournament. The odds were stacked against them, but they weren't going down without a fight.
The key to crushing Georgia, a program that has been playing some of the best basketball in their 121 years of program history, was Beard nailing the team's defensive identity just when they needed it the most.
It started to show when they pulled one off against Auburn, but the losses following that came in with their own reservations.
What changed? The defense is holding the line, and actually hitting their marks when the clock is winding down.
AJ Storr led Ole Miss with 19 points, Malik Dia had 17 and Travis Perry added 16.
It is a celebration well earned for the Rebs as they now prepare to pull off another upset against all odds against Alabama in the quarterfinals.