Top 25 Matchup: Chris Beard Says Rebels Didn't Honor 'Our End of the Bargain' vs. Auburn

Saturday's game between the Ole Miss Rebels and Auburn Tigers was a Top 25 matchup in technicality, but it did not appear to be one on the court.

The No. 22 Ole Miss Rebels were dominated by the Auburn Tigers to the tune of an 82-59 final score on Saturday night, but it wasn't all doom and gloom for head coach Chris Beard after the game.

Beard admitted that there is "a lot of good" going on in the Rebels program in his first year on the job, but Saturday did not meet his expectations moving forward.

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"We came to Ole Miss with a lot of objectives, to play meaningful games in March. To get there, you've got to play some meaningful games in March, and to get there, you've got to play some meaningful games in January and February. We made our part of the bargain in terms of having two Top 25 teams playing here. Somebody told me it might be the first time Ole Miss ever played Auburn with both teams ranked. A lot of good going on in our program as we build this thing Year 1. Obviously, we didn't take care of our end of the bargain today to make it a Top 25-type game, but I would give Auburn the credit for that. Very difficult to score against, season-high turnovers tonight. A lot of that was because of Auburn's good play."

-- Chris Beard during Saturday's postgame press conference

Ole Miss committed 17 turnovers on Saturday night, and Beard's emphasis after the game was taking care of the ball, something that the Rebels failed to do, especially early in the contest.

'Take Care of The Ball!' Chris Beard Breaks Down Loss to Auburn

The Rebels will look to rebound after back-to-back losses this week when they return home to host the Arkansas Razorbacks at the SJB Pavilion in Oxford. Tip-off on Wednesday is set for 8 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on ESPNU.