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Chris Beard emotionally praises Ole Miss for raising expectations after loss to MSU
By Mark Kern
Published:
Chris Beard and Ole Miss led for much of the game against Michigan State on Friday night, but fell 73-70 to have their season end in the Sweet 16. This was a season that Rebels fans have been hoping to see from their team for a long time, as the team showed it can play against the best in the country.
Ole Miss hasn’t been in the Sweet 16 very often, as this was only the second time in the history of the program that the Rebels have made it to this far. The only other time was in 2001.
While the Rebels haven’t played this far in the NCAA Tournament very often, Beard said it had no impact on the game. All he wanted to talk about after the game was that this team raised the expectations for the program, something he was emotional about and especially grateful for.
“Zero factor, and I’ll repeat what I said. The thing I’m most thankful for, really why my emotions are different right now than at the end of any season.” Beard said. “I’m just thankful. What these guys did — what these guys did is they raised expectations, first for themselves and then the program.”
The expectations for the team were high the entire season, and Beard said when Selection Sunday was announced, the team was focused on getting to San Antonio for the Final Four.
“When we were at the Selection Sunday show in March and the name came across, it wasn’t about like we’ve made it, it was about let’s get to work,” Beard said. “Six games in three weekends. For that, I’ll forever be thankful. I know they’re going to do that for the rest of their lives. Whatever they want, they’re going to go get.”
While the Rebels haven’t played in games like this deep in the season, Beard has coached in big games throughout his career. During his time at Texas Tech, he had the Red Raiders under 30 seconds away from winning the title. Even though this team didn’t finish off the task, Beard said this team is different compared to any other team he’s had.
“I’ve been blessed to coach a lot of great teams, but these guys were different,” Beard said. “Literally, we walked around expecting to win the SEC, expecting to win every game, and expecting to make it to San Antonio, and it was beautiful to be around.”
Now, for the Rebels, it is on to what is next. In today’s college basketball world, you have to be ready to rebuild on the fly with the NIL and transfer portal. Regardless, though, this team has shown that Ole Miss is going to be around for a long time.
