Why Chris Beard getting ejected from Ole Miss-Tennessee was worth it

It got him ejected, but atleast he got his money's worth out of it.

Tuesday night in Knoxville, Ole Miss's free throw deficit and foul disparity finally got to Chris Beard as he stormed to the officials for a heated confrontation.

With just a little over six minutes remaining, Tennessee already had 34 free throws for the night, as compared to the Rebels' 21. The fouls, however, were an altogether different story as Ole Miss recorded 25 fouls for the Vols' 18.

Then came the play where the Ole Miss coach believed the officials missed a foul against a Tennessee player, leading to a turnover.

The wheels were coming off for Ole Miss, and Beard couldn't stand there and do nothing. His frustration got the best of him as Beard stomped to the officials, where he was called for two technical fouls and ejected from the game.

Chris Beard 'fought' for his players

”You have a Hall of Fame coach here, first ballot, one of the best that’s ever done it,” Beard said when asked about the ejection.

“And I think if you look back at different spots in his career, he had to fight for his program. And so I kind of think that’s where we are with Ole Miss right now," he continued, trying to justify it.

"These are the best officials in college basketball. … But (in) tonight's game, the free-throw differential, the fouls called differential, at some point as a coach you have to fight for your players.”

His statement not giving an inch of regret silently said why it was worth the ejection.

However, a small part of that frustration stems from their now 4-loss streak.
The upset against Tennessee was the fourth consecutive loss for the Rebs, making their record 11-11, 3-6 SEC.

With their current record, the Rebels are down to a puncher's chance—they'll likely need to run the table in Nashville to see the Big Dance.

Ole Miss faces Texas next on Feb. 8.