Ole Miss Basketball's Chris Beard Breaks Down Impressive Win Over Oral Roberts

The Rebels extended their non-conference winning streak with a blowout performance on Thursday night.

Nov 21, 2024; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard reacts during the second half against the Oral Roberts Golden Eagles at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-Imagn Images / Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

Ole Miss basketball has been no stranger to national attention this season. They showed exactly why on Thursday night in a dominant Rebels win over Oral Roberts by a final score of 100-68.

Despite missing key starter Dre Davis, the Rebels still cruised to a fifth-straight victory to open the season. Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard revealed following the win over Oral Roberts that Davis suffered an injury last weekend against Colorado State.

"He's out there, playing with adrenaline, and I guess he got popped in one of his arms, and he just played through it," Beard said. "Had a really good game down there. The depth of our team is a real asset in situations like this."

Depth definitely played a big role in the Rebels' win win on Thursday with 10 of the 12 players who entered the game scoring. Of those 10, five were in double figures.

On the night, the Rebels shot 53.6 percent from the floor, 38.5 percent from three-point range, and 72.7 percent from the free throw line. That's certainly a great shooting night, reflected by Matthew Murrell becoming 15th all-time in scoring in Ole Miss basketball history.

Beard's ability to take a 50-40 halftime lead and turn it into a 100-68 blowout is impressive. Despite a close call against Grambling State back on Nov. 8, the Rebels have consistently found themselves in close games, only for the team to break the game open and secure a victory. Resiliency when things aren't going your way is a valuable skill, and Beard has instilled that value in the team.

"This is an interesting game," Beard said. "We were all frustrated, not just coaches, but players too. We get in there at halftime, we're having some hard words and then we just kind of calmed down. We talk about this culture, and we say we have these relationships. Do we? And everybody spoke up."

To be able to talk things out as a team when presented with a tough game is key during a postseason run, as Beard later mentioned in his media availability, and it appears that the Ole Miss locker room has that quality, at least early in the season.

"This early in the journey, I would say the vision for this team still stands kind of true," Beard said. "We've just got to get better. We're a work-in-progress. Each day in practice, each day in the film room, each opportunity to play in a game gives us a chance to keep working towards the team we all want to be."

The Rebels are back in action next Friday, Nov. 28 to take on BYU in the Randy Children's Invitational in San Diego, California. Tip-off is set for 4:30 p.m. CT and will be televised on FS1.