MILWAUKEE — Chris Beard and TJ Otzelberger have coached against each other before.

In many ways, they’re mirror images of one another — guys who worked their way through lower levels, ultimately finding success through building rosters known for their work ethic, defense and toughness.

Beard and Otzelberger will square off for the third time as head coaches on Sunday at Fizerv Forum in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner will advance to next week’s Sweet 16 in Atlanta.

“I have nothing but respect for Iowa State,” Beard said Saturday. “TJ does a great job. His team has an identity. It doesn’t take long to figure it out. They’re physical. They’re connected. They’re hard-playing guys.

“I think it’s a great coaching fit — TJ with Iowa State. He’s impacted that program for a long time, not only as a head coach but as an assistant coach, and we competed against each other along the way. He has a physical, hard-playing team that doesn’t beat themselves. So we’ll have to play our best 40 minutes of the season to try to get to next weekend.”

On Jan. 15, 2022, Otzelberger’s Iowa State team beat Beard’s Texas team, 79-70, in Ames. Some three weeks later, Beard’s Longhorns won the rematch, 63-41, in Austin.

“You know what you’re getting into,” Beard said “There won’t be a lot of surprises. Physical, hard-playing defense. They’re going to try to get you to turn it over. On offense, they’re going to put you in a lot of tough spots. They’re going to do a lot of different things on offense. They don’t have just one primary ball-handler or one shooter or one post-up guy. They’re got true position-less players. This is a great roster build that TJ and his guys have done this season.”

Otzelberger said Beard’s teams “always exemplify tremendous toughness and togetherness,” adding he sees those traits in the Ole Miss team he’ll oppose Sunday at 6:45 p.m. CDT.

“They communicate well,” Otzelberger said. “They play for one another on that side of the floor most definitely. I think offensively the way they move and share the basketball, some of the motion concepts, those are similar things that made him successful as a coach at all the places he’s been, but specifically when we were competing against each other when he was at Texas.”

Otzelberger noted the Rebels’ versatility and overall experience. He noted Ole Miss’ penchant for causing turnovers on one end and taking care of the basketball on the other.

“But when you really look at their team, it’s challenging to focus on one particular guy because so many guys do so many things well. So they’re just a really good basketball team and a team that plays with tremendous purpose.”

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