With 2 wins in the SEC Tournament, Chris Beard seems to have finally cracked the code to the one thing he was chasing from the opening tip.
In several of their later SEC games towards the end of the regular season, Ole Miss had a decent shot at winning. The only anchor holding them down was their late-game collapses and their failure to recover from the deficit. It became a weekly ritual for a team that seemed to hit the wall in the final minutes against SEC foes.
The fix was a slow burn at first, but the Rebels found their groove just when they needed it the most.
Malik Dia reveals what changed
Malik Dia, who finished the night with 17 points, credited those lessons as the reasons for pulling it through the clutch moments first against Texas and then vs Georgia.
"We had a lot of poise. Throughout the season we’ve been in situations like that a lot, and I feel like we’re finally starting to break through in those clutch moments. In the huddles not much had to be said," Dia said post Georgia upset win.
"It was just about staying calm, staying poised, and getting the job done. As far as Selection Sunday, this team is fighting every game. We’re taking it one game at a time. We just don’t want our season to end. We want to be in the big dance."
They tried chasing it against LSU in the heartbreaking double-overtime thriller, but the pattern repeated itself. They then seemed to find their footing with the win against Auburn, but the losses following that made it seem like a fluke.
That supposition was officially shattered with two wins against teams that played far better than the Rebs in the regular season.
"It’s huge. We’re just taking it one game at a time. When your season is on the line, you’re going to play with a different intensity. For me personally, I just don’t want to go home. I want another day. I want another moment with these guys. I’m just going to keep playing my heart out for them," Dia added.
Day 3 would present the challenge of proving how sturdy this newfound change is against Alabama in the quarterfinals.