Ole Miss Rebels Coach Chris Beard Heaps Praise on Penny Hardaway, Memphis Tigers Before Weekend Showdown

Ole Miss Rebels head coach Chris Beard did not hold back praise for his upcoming opponent in the Memphis Tigers.

OXFORD -- The Ole Miss Rebels have one of their stiffest tests to date coming to town on Saturday in the form of Penny Hardaway and the Memphis Tigers, and head coach Chris Beard knows what he is up against.

In media availability on Thursday, Beard discussed his opinion on Tigers coach Penny Hardaway and his program, commenting that they are among the strongest teams in college basketball, when they play to their potential.

"A lot of respect for Penny," Beard said. "One of the best basketball players to ever play college basketball and in the NBA, but also a really good coach. Our teams have played against each other before, and I've seen him several times on the recruiting trail. In my opinion, he's one of the best coaches in our game right now.

"It's early season, and a lot can be said about our team too, but when they're playing well, I think they're as good as anybody in college basketball. He definitely has the pieces."

Nov 28, 2023; Oxford, Mississippi, USA; Mississippi Rebels head coach Chris Beard (right) talks with guard Robert Cowherd (13) during the first half against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at The Sandy and John Black Pavilion at Ole Miss. Mandatory Credit: Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports / © Petre Thomas-USA TODAY Sports

Beard's Rebels are 6-0 on the young season, and Memphis enters this game at 5-1 with its lone loss coming against Villanova in the Bahamas last week. Ole Miss is fresh off a win over N.C. State in the ACC/SEC Challenge, but Beard knows that his team has its work cut out against the Tigers again on Saturday.

"We'll have to play our best 40 minutes of the season to this point to have some success in this game," Beard said. "Should be a great college basketball game. Two good teams, in my opinion."

There is newfound excitement around the men's basketball program at Ole Miss. Since Beard's hiring, momentum has quickened in Oxford, and the Rebels are returning one of their top players to the lineup in Moussa Cisse this week who was recently declared eligible by the NCAA following his second collegiate transfer.

Rebels Forward Moussa Cisse Cleared to Play by NCAA

That paired with a strong program in Memphis coming to town has led to a sellout of the SJB Pavilion on Saturday, something that Beard and the marketing team have worked towards since he took the job. He also had special praise for the Ole Miss student section, "Club Red."

"We do work hard at it," Beard said. "It is an objective from the day we were blessed to get this job until this morning. We believe there's a relationship in college basketball between home court advantage and winning.

"Very pleased in our early stages of building Club Red. We never thought we had to invent something. This student fan base has been good for many, many years supporting many, many different sports. We've just got to do our part in men's basketball building a program worthy of the students getting excited and getting behind."

Ole Miss and Memphis are scheduled to tip-off at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday at the SJB Pavilion, and the game will be televised on ESPN2.