Hosting Oklahoma on Saturday, March 1, at 1 p.m., Ole Miss Men’s Basketball looks to secure another SEC victory at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion.
After beating South Carolina on the road on Feb. 12, the Rebels were looking strong. They put together a three-game winning streak, including a dominant performance against then No. 14 Kentucky.
Fast forward three more games, and suddenly Ole Miss cannot seem to buy a win.
Most recently, the Rebels came out flat losing 77-72 to Vanderbilt. Ole Miss looked stagnant and conservative on offense for much of the game.
“I thought the difference in the game was obviously our poor start,” Beard said following the Vanderbilt loss. “They were very aggressive out of the gates, and we needed to take that first punch a little bit better than we did.”
In the first 15 minutes of play, the Rebels limped to a 34-15 deficit and only managed to cut the Vanderbilt lead to single digits at the end of the fist half.
Part of the reason for the Commodores’ early lead was their assertiveness on offense, which was demonstrated in the difference in total free throw attempts between both teams.
“I thought the free throw differential was obvious,” Beard said. “(Vanderbilt) didn’t foul much, and they got to the free throw line. … It’s obviously a factor in the game when they make more free throws than we shoot.”
Though the Rebels shot 13-15 from the line — a large improvement in percentage from the Auburn game on Feb. 1, when the Rebels shot 24-35 — Vanderbilt had nearly twice as many attempts, shooting 21-29.
Overall, the Rebels were uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball, tallying 11 turnovers. Guard Sean Pedulla committed five of these.
“When our starting point guard has five turnovers in a game, it’s going to be very difficult for Ole Miss to win,” Beard said.
The Rebels’ skid also includes a 10-point home loss against Mississippi State on Feb. 15. This was one of the most unimpressive performances by Ole Miss this season.
By the middle of the second half, Beard rotated in guards Eduardo Klafke and Robert Cowherd and forward John Bol, players who have seen limited play time this season.
Beard’s reason was simple — he was looking for anyone who cared to show effort.
“Some of the substitutions tonight were to literally get people out there that were playing with a sense of pride for Ole Miss,” Beard said in the Mississippi State postgame press conference. “We’re not going to make every shot. We’re not going to win every game. But you can absolutely control what you can control, and that’s effort, body language (and) competitiveness. We were lacking a lot of those things.”
When asked if he was grateful for the team’s week-long break before the Vanderbilt game, Beard did not have anything positive to say.
“You look forward to the break after a win, and you dread the break after a loss,” Beard said.
These recent losses make Saturday’s home game against Oklahoma all the more important. With No. 5 Tennessee and No. 3 Florida left on the schedule, Ole Miss desperately needs a win against the Sooners to avoid what could become a conference record with seven losses.
Oklahoma is beatable, posting a 4-10 SEC record — the third-worst in the conference. The Sooners’ biggest win of conference play came against Mississippi State on Saturday, Feb. 22.
Yet the Sooners are by no means a bad team. They finished out-of-conference play 13-0 with wins against No. 22 Arizona and No. 19 Louisville. The Rebels will need to contain forward Jalon Moore and freshman guard Jeremiah Fears — two standouts who combine for nearly 33 points per game.
If Ole Miss can take care of the ball, execute efficiently on offense and shoot well, they have a strong chance of coming out on top against the Sooners.
Following the game against Oklahoma, Ole Miss will host No. 3 Tennessee on Wednesday, March 5 at the Sandy and John Black Pavilion. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. and can be streamed on ESPN.
Editor’s Note: This article was published prior to the Ole Miss Men’s Basketball team’s Feb. 26 match against Auburn.
