Even a miracle SEC Tournament run couldn't get Ole Miss the Cinderella status it deserved this season. The heartbreaker 3-point loss to Arkansas in the semifinals shattered whatever hope three tourney wins had mustered after a 15-20 season.
Coach Beard was also barely holding back his tears during his post-game media appearance, and the locker room scenes were almost identical. The devastation was written all over the Rebels' faces as they answered some questions from the locker room after their media appearance.
Malik Dia on the semifinal loss
Malik Dia, who has been a consistent force for the Rebs this season, opened up on everything that went behind getting to the semis, and the gut-wrenching heartbreak that followed with the 93-90 loss.
"We gave it our all each and every game. We didn't want it to end, but it unfortunately did. But this team worked hard, and it's special, man. Everybody counted us out, and we came here with a mission, and we executed the mission for 150 minutes. We came up short," Dia said.
However, there was one silver lining that appeared in the looming dark cloud.
"It's just a blessing to be with these guys, and I'll just never forget these guys," Dia said, emphasizing perhaps the most important takeaway for Beard's squad this season.
Not just Dia, even Beard credited the boys for sharing a bond so strong that they could overcome the most depressing 10-game skid low together, and fight for a position where they could actually think they had a shot at the NCAA Tournament as the No. 15 team.
"Tough times pass, tough people last. I don't know if I've ever had a team exemplify that more than these guys. We had a lot of tough times, but we kept fighting," Beard said.
"No other way to say it other than these guys didn't quit on themselves, on the team, the coaching staff. They allowed us to coach 'em hard every day all the way down to the last possession."
With the offseason officially in motion for Beard and his team, the primary focus would be cleaning up their act and stop the bleeding after a season that was frankly hard to watch.