Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard reiterated, following his team's 98-84 win over Kentucky inside the SJB Pavilion on Tuesday night, the importance of the Southeastern Conference season being an 18-round fight.
Beard, who is in his second season as head coach of the Rebels, is no stranger to the NCAA Tournament. He’s led Texas Tech to the NCAA Championship, Final Four, and Elite Eight games. He also guided the University of Texas to the NCAA Tournament round of 32 in his first season on the job.
The Texas graduate continues to place Ole Miss, 17-6 (6-4 SEC), in a terrific position as one of the teams selected come NCAA Selection Sunday this season.
Following the win over Kentucky in front of a packed home crowd, Beard thanked the crowd in his postgame media availability.
#HottyToddy 🔴🔴🔴 pic.twitter.com/OQX8DdijnS
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) February 5, 2025
"We are super appreciative of the attendance. Thank you to the students and season ticket holders. We're" very appreciative.”
He didn’t mention the advantage Kentucky had coming into the game, leading the all-time series 111-14. He also didn’t open with the 98 points by the Rebels against the Wildcats, the most scored against the Cats in series history. Finally, he also didn’t mention the win by the Rebels over the Wildcats was only the second win over Kentucky in the last 10 years. The only other win came during the 2021 season, a 70-62 decision in Oxford.
Beard, like he’s done following every conference game this season, notes he never plans to get too high or low following a game. As most Ole Miss fans will tell you, this was no ordinary game for the Rebels.
Never has an Ole Miss team led a Kentucky team by a whopping 27 points in a game during the series. How good was Ole Miss against the Cats? UK shot 50 percent from the floor and 47.6 percent from the three-point line…..and lost.
Yet the Rebels, who made 54.7 percent of its field goals and 43.3 percent of its three-point shots, held on down the stretch when the Wildcats would make a late run.
As noted above, beating the Wildcats has come as no easy feat over the years. UK still holds a 31-12 advantage against Ole Miss in Oxford, but times are changing at Ole Miss.
The big picture? The Rebels continue to stack wins, most importantly, quadrant one (Q1) wins.
The SEC has proven to be a gauntlet this season. Before the win over Kentucky, eight conference teams joined Ole Miss in the latest Associated Press poll. The Rebels, with a 6-4 conference record, are tied with three other teams in the conference with six wins, only below league leaders Alabama and Auburn.
Inside the numbers
Notching another win in SEC play only solidifies the Rebels' NCAA Tournament resume. With the latest NET rankings released, Ole Miss moved up to No. 21 with a 6-6 record in Q1 games. The Rebels are now 11-0 in Q2, Q3 and Q4 games this season.
The all-important Ken Pom rankings, the Rebels are 20th, and the ESPN BPI ranks them 27th.
What stands out more than anything is the remaining strength of schedule (RSOS). According to ESPN, Ole Miss is No. 6 in the country with remaining games against current ranked opponents, No. 22 Mississippi State, No. 1 Auburn, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 6 Florida.
Protect the ball
Ole Miss made history in its win over Kentucky by only committing one turnover while dishing out 24 assists. Just how rare of a feat is this? As Jake Thompson of On3 Sports reported, the one turnover committed by the Rebels was the least by an SEC team in conference play over the past 25 years. It wasn’t just protecting the ball but also distributing it.
Rebels guards Sean Pedulla and JuJu Murray combined with 18 assists on the night.
The Rebels had five players in double figures, led by Matthew Murrell, who scored 24 points, followed by Dre Davis, who scored 17.