Ole Miss' Chris Beard Highlights Positives, Negatives From Win Over Southern Miss

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Chris Beard gleaned some good and bad from his team's win over Southern Miss on Saturday.

Dec 3, 2024; Louisville, Kentucky, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard calls out instructions during the second half against the Louisville Cardinals at KFC Yum! Center. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images / Jamie Rhodes-Imagn Images

The Ole Miss Rebels are rolling right now with a 9-1 record on the young season after they took down in-state rival Southern Miss in a neutral site game in Biloxi.

Saturday's contest was a game where the Rebels seemed to run away with it after the break thanks to some big time threes from Sean Pedulla, a transfer player who has brought a certain spark to this Ole Miss team. Pedulla has been a defensive specialist early but has really come along as one of the team's best three-point threats.

Pedulla knocked down six three-pointers in the win over the Golden Eagles,

"I thought Sean was aggressive on defense today," head coach Chris Beard said postgame. "He was very competitive on defense today. That will bleed into the other end. I have always thought if you are thinking about the right things--getting stops, playing team defense--then offense normally takes care of itself when you are as talented as Sean is."

Coach Beard also talked about the intensity needed coming out of halftime clinging to a 10-point lead against a well-coached team like Southern Miss.

"We knew it was going to be another 20-minute game," Beard said. "We have seen Coach [Jay] Ladner's teams do this a lot; they are never going stop playing, I think Southern Miss had an 8-0 run on us mid-second half, which was very disappointing for us."

While the Rebels seem to be moving in the right direction, Beard is quick to point out where the Rebels need to improve, and that starts with effort.

"I thought offensively we had possessions where we were standing around too much against their zone," Beard said. "We encourgaged the guys to stay aggressive offensively, and then we had a couple loose balls that we were disappointed in. Southern Miss had guys dive on the floor and Ole Miss had guys reach on the floor, and that just not how we play the game."

It is obvious that Chris Beard sets high standards for his players, and his instilled culture showed in the second half with a massive offensive output as the Rebels outscored the Golden Eagles by 21 in the second half to cruise to a 77-46 win.

The Rebels travel back to Oxford for matchup with Southern on Tuesday, Tip off is at 6 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on SEC Network +.