The Opening Betting Lines: Ole Miss Basketball vs. Iowa State in the NCAA Tournament

Chris Beard and Co. advance to Round Two of the NCAA Tournament, set for a clash against Iowa State.

Courtesy of Ole Miss Basketball.

The No. 6 seeded Ole Miss Rebels took down the North Carolina Tar Heels 71-64 on Friday afternoon in Milwaukee to capture a First Round victory in the NCAA Tournament.

Chris Beard and the Rebels now advance to the Second Round program feeling the support up North in Friday's impressive victory.

"It’s a special place. Anybody that hasn’t been to Oxford, everything you’ve heard in a positive light is true. It’s a college town. We’ve also got a great state in Mississippi that — kind of a state divided, but we’ve got our share of Ole Miss fans," Beard said on Friday.

"Our fans travel not only for basketball but for other sports as well. It wasn’t surprising but definitely appreciated. Our players were talking about it before the game when they went out for the first warm-ups. So thank you to everybody who came and supported us today. I know it’s not easy. It’s real time, real expense, real money to get here. So we never take it for granted."

"We’re in our second year at Ole Miss. We’re building something special sooner than people thought, but a big part of it is our fan base, period."

Ole Miss will take on No. 3 seeded Iowa State on Sunday in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament with the opening lines being revealed by DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Opening Betting Lines: Ole Miss Rebels vs. Iowa State Cyclones

Spread:
- Ole Miss: (+5.5)
- Iowa State: (-5.5)

Moneyline:
- Ole Miss: (+190)
- Iowa State: (-230)

Over/Under: 145.5

The Ole Miss Rebels will enter the clash in Milwaukee as 5.5-point underdogs with Vegas favoring the Iowa State Cyclones following impressive Round 1 victory.

Beard's Take: Poise Paves the Way

"Our word is poise, stone-faced, don’t get too high or too low. We have a veteran team. Sean and Juju have both played in the NCAA Tournament before. I think that showed early," Beard said on Friday. "They did a great job getting some of their teammates that haven’t played in this tournament before prepared.

"I think a lot of things about our team. I think we looked poised at times. We were composed when it mattered most. I didn’t see anything about our team today that looked like there was any fraught in our program. I saw a team that had a good season in the SEC just beat North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament."

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