Low point of Rebels' season leads to apology from Beard
OXFORD — Ole Miss sputtered to the regular-season finish line Saturday, giving up the game’s first 14 points and then posting an atrocious second half.
The result: A predictable blowout loss to Texas A&M, one that led to Ole Miss coach Chris Beard wanting to refund ticket money to the fans who took time out of their Saturday afternoon to enter the Sandy and John Black Pavilion.
“I thought we’d play with Ole Miss heart today and we didn’t,” Beard said. “A lot of this whole deal in basketball is a lot like life. You either have pride or you don’t.”
“We just want to apologize to everybody. I’ll check with (Ole Miss athletics director) Keith (Carter) and see what the rules are on this, but anybody who paid money to come see this game today, I’d like you to get reimbursed.”
Beard apologized to season ticket holders, saying that his team didn’t give the effort “that you spend your time and money to come watch, so I want to apologize to everybody, to the students that stuck around, not going to spring break until tomorrow or later tonight, who chose to support the team. I just want to apologize.”
The Aggies, playing like a team that fully knows it’s on the NCAA Tournament bubble, played with intensity en route to an 86-60 win that really didn’t feel that close. The Aggies finished the regular season 18-13 overall and 9-9 in the Southeastern Conference.
Ole Miss, meanwhile, made a first-half run but otherwise failed to launch, losing for the eighth time in its last 10 games. The Rebels fell to 20-11 overall and 7-11 in the SEC.
The Rebels will play again next week in Nashville in the SEC Tournament. The Rebels will play on Wednesday night if Georgia beats Auburn later today. Otherwise, Ole Miss will play on Thursday, as the No. 10 seed that evening against the No. 7 seed.
Ole Miss would need four wins in four days to win the tournament and earn at automatic bid. Given the reality that Ole Miss hasn’t beaten an SEC team other than Missouri — 0-17 in the league entering tonight’s finale at LSU — since Jan. 30, that thought is more far-fetched than any fairy tale.
Saturday’s performance was the low point of the season. If you’ve read this far, you’ll read a little longer. Let’s break down the myriad of disasters Saturday.
— Texas A&M destroyed Ole Miss on the glass. The Aggies out-rebounded Ole Miss, 50-21. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Texas A&M collected 18 offensive rebounds, leading to 20 second-chance points. Ole Miss, meanwhile, had five offensive rebounds and nine second-chance points.
— Ole Miss turned the basketball over just nine times. If you’re looking for an offensive highlight, that’s it. The Rebels shot just 39 percent from the floor and made just eight of 28 shots from behind the 3-point line. The Rebels made just half of their free throws. The ball stuck. Possessions were stagnant. Shot selection was abysmal. It was lazy at times, inexcusable at others. Outside of Jaylen Murray, who scored 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, the Rebels’ offense was a train wreck. Matthew Murrell, playing his final home game, made one of nine 3’s. Cole McGrath made more 3-pointers — one — than Allen Flanigan, who scored just two points in 20 minutes. Moussa Cisse took a 3, presumably for the hell of it, at the beginning of the shot clock on one possession. It did not, in case you were wondering, go in. It didn’t hit anything.
— Ole Miss’ defense was awful. That might be being kind. The Rebels gave up open look after open look, drive to the basket after drive to the basket. Texas A&M shot 50 percent from the floor and the same percentage from 3. The Aggies had 36 points in the paint, 14 more than Ole Miss. Manny Obaseki had 25 points. Tyrece Radford and Wade Taylor IV had 19 each. Solomon Washington had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Beard said there are individuals on the team who need to so some soul-searching.
“We have a lot of guys in our organization who have to make a decision,” Beard said. “Who am I? What’s my last name mean? Do I have some pride? I know this: There’s a lot of pride in Ole Miss basketball. There’ll be better days than today as we continue to build this. …From a coaching standpoint, it’s really hard to coach attitude and effort. It might be impossible.”
Beard said Saturday was about a mindset, adding his team simply wasn’t very competitive against the Aggies. As he’s done all season, he said discipline has been a concern. The lack thereof showed up Saturday.
“This team does not have the discipline that it takes to win the SEC,” Beard said. “Discipline’s been an issue all season. We’ll just continue to work at it.”