'Give Yourself a Chance!' Rebels' Chris Beard Reviews Tough Road Loss to Tigers

The Ole Miss Rebels suffered their second loss of the season on Wednesday to the LSU Tigers, but Chris Beard is looking on the bright side of things.

The No. 22 Ole Miss Rebels hit a speed bump on Wednesday night, as they suffered their second loss of the 2023-24 season on the road to the LSU Tigers. LSU took control of the lead entering halftime, and the Rebels played catchup the rest of the game. 

Ole Miss did not go down without a fight, however, as the Rebels cut LSU's lead down to five points with less than two minutes remaining in the game. Rebels' coach Chris Beard knows his team has plenty to work on, but liked what he saw from his players in the final minutes versus LSU.

© Scott Clause-USA TODAY Sports

"On a night where there weren't many positives for us, I think we gave ourselves a chance late," Beard told reporters postgame. "I think we cut it to a two possession game with under two minutes left. We had a little bit of fight in us, which is good to see. It's a long season. 

"You're going to be in games like this where you don't play your best and the objective is to just give yourself a chance, and we did that on a night where we didn't do a lot of other things well. The guys kept fighting and didn't quit."

Rebels Suffer Tough Road Loss To Tigers

Ole Miss' two losses this season have come on the road against SEC opponents. Beard gave his assessment on how the Rebels have faired starting off conference play in his first year in the SEC.

"I think we're like every other team in the country, we're still a work in progress," Beard said. "We've had some good moments this season. I believe that we can play with any team in the country, but we're really striving for consistency."

Ole Miss is now set to take on the No. 13 Auburn Tigers on the road in the Neville Arena on Saturday. Auburn also owns a 15-2 overall record entering its home game versus the Rebels. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. CT, and the game will be televised on SEC Network.