After Ole Miss Men’s Basketball’s historic run to the Sweet 16, Rebel head coach Chris Beard expressed his gratitude for the fans that stuck by the team all season.
“I think the main message is thank you. It was a successful season,” Beard said in an interview with The Daily Mississippian. “There’s some real measuring stick scores, but we also had a lot of victories with our attendance and student section turnout.”
Ole Miss finished the season 24-12 (10-8 SEC), ending with a 73-70 loss to No. 2 seed Michigan State in the Sweet 16 round of the NCAA Tournament on March 28. This was the Rebels’ first trip back to the Sweet 16 since 2001. Ole Miss has shown tangible improvement from year one to year two under Beard — a feat that Beard attributes, in part, to the fans.
“We broke all sorts of records. So the message from everybody in our program is just thank you,” Beard said. “Thank you to our students. Thank you to the season ticket holders. Thank you to all the fans that supported our team all year long. We really look forward to next season as we continue to build this thing.”
Ole Miss made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2019. After a nail-biting win against No. 11 seed North Carolina, Ole Miss pulled the Round of 32 upset over No. 3 seed Iowa State 91-78.
From beginning to end, this season felt different for many fans and, even though it ended in heartbreak against the Spartans, Beard was impressed with the overall turnout and enthusiasm this year.
“The first game, we broke an attendance record for season openers — second only to the first game ever in the Pavilion,” Beard said. “And then it just continued during SEC play: the multiple sellouts, the students coming into the game two hours early and creating an atmosphere for our players as they warm up.”
Though the Rebels had many big moments on the road to the Sweet 16, Beard prefers to look at the season as one long journey.
“I think the growth that we all had together as a program was special,” Beard said. “I don’t (think there is) one defining moment but just the ability to keep building the program and things keep getting better. Ultimately, playing in the NCAA Tournament, advancing to the Sweet 16, I think it was a real team effort.”
Beard is setting his sights on the upcoming season.
“We’re just getting started. We look to build upon the momentum,” Beard said. “We improved from year one to two at Ole Miss. Ultimately, our objective is to compete for championships in the SEC and the national championship and, to do that, a lot of work has been done to this point and a lot of work needs to be done moving forward.”
