Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

Chris Beard Has Harsh Message for Ole Miss After Loss in Egg Bowl

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Levi Dombro | Last updated Feb 17, 2025 12:50 PM ET

Ole Miss men's basketball has been rolling this season under second-year head coach Chris Beard, but the team has hit a lull in the last two weeks. After a dominant performance in Oxford against the Kentucky Wildcats, the Rebels barely beat the SEC's two worst teams and suffered a loss on Saturday at the hands of their rivals, Mississippi State.

A veteran team suffering such a setback was a bit concerning, especially to coach Beard. Although Ole Miss has basically earned their way into the NCAA Tournament already, Beard called out his team in the post-game press conference for their performance.

"I just thought we had a lot of softness to us today and that’s not easy for me to say as the coach," said Beard after the loss. "That’s one thing we pride ourselves in. We’re not going to win every game but we do have an objective that we’re not going to put an effort out there like I thought we put out there today."

While the score on Saturday did not look as lopsided as the game felt, Ole Miss was out-hustled and outplayed in almost every facet of the game just as coach Beard said. Rebounding has been an issue all season for the Rebels and they lost that battle on Sunday by 12 boards and also relinquished 14 offensive rebounds.

Veteran players like Matthew Murrell and Dre Davis did not have their best games either, which makes it hard for Ole Miss to win. The team has seven players on their roster with 1,000 or more points in their college career, and they need all of them ready to perform each night if they want to make a deep March Madness run.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: