Chris Beard addresses zero fouls for Tolu Smith, Jimmy Bell in Mississippi State loss

Mississippi State pulled away from Ole Miss in the final half of the second half to win the in-state rematch by a dozen. However, there’s one aspect that, while he isn’t going to harp on it, Chris Beard wants everyone to take note of.

Beard had some thoughts about the officiating in his postgame press conference following the 83-71 loss in Starkville on Wednesday. To him, he just can’t comprehend how the Bulldogs’ two centers in the frontcourt, Tolu Smith and Jimmy Bell, left a contest that featured 41 total fouls with zero between the two centers combined.

“It’s amazing to me that Smith and Bell, the two five-men here, have zero fouls in the game,” said Beard. “I’m just reading what’s on the stat sheet. Won’t let my personal opinion be known because it’s not how college basketball works.

“Two physical players? In an SEC game? Late in February? They play 40 minutes and their five spot had zero fouls in a game.”

On the other side, the Rebels’ two big men, Moussa Cisse and Jamarion Sharp, combined for eight total with four apiece. That’s not to mention two other players, Allen Flanigan and TJ Caldwell, fouling out.

“Zero fouls on two guys that are really physical players. On the other end? We have multiple players foul out of the game,” Beard noted. “Again, give Mississippi State credit. A lot of these possessions were the most aggressive person won the possession.”

Beard wasn’t going to deep dive into it as he had already earned a technical foul during the second half of the game. He just wishes that a scenario like the one he saw last night would get more observation rather than just a casual look over.

“… To me? If this was a North Carolina–Duke or a Kansas–Baylor? This would get some national attention,” said Beard. “Some basketball people might take a look at the film. Not just the box score, not just the coach’s comments but actually look at the game.”

Both Smith and Bell were both impactful in their foul-free minutes versus Ole Miss. Bell started and had a usual line of six points and four rebounds in 14 minutes. As for Smith, he came off the bench and posted 24 points and six rebounds. It was his third-best scoring total on the year as he shot 53.3% from the field overall and made eight of his season-high of 15 attempts at the charity stripe.

All the Rebels can do is move on from this one with five games to go in the regular season. However, Beard just wants everyone to know that a statistic like that one is just nothing he has come across before as a coach.

“In all my years of coaching, I have not been involved in a game like that,” Beard said.