Chris Beard: Ole Miss must ‘stay the course’ amid losing streak vs. SEC opponents

After upsetting the Alabama Crimson Tide on January 14th, head coach Chris Beard has seen his Ole Miss Rebels go on a slide, losing three games in a row, including to their rival the Mississippi State Bulldogs.

Following their most recent loss to the Missouri Tigers, Beard discussed those recent struggles. For him, the most important thing to do now is to stay the course moving forward.

“We just stay the course,” Chris Beard said. “This is the SEC. A two-game winning streak, it’s free breakfast burritos in the morning and people want to throw you a parade. A two-game losing streak you feel like the sun won’t come up tomorrow. It’s short-term memory. It’s just staying the course — the same thing we do after wins. We just get back to work.”

Ole Miss won their first four SEC games to open the conference slate before dropping the next three. All three of those losses came against teams that are currently ranked in the top 25 of the AP Poll. For what has become one of the deepest basketball conferences, the reality is going to be that teams run into those difficult stretches against top-tier opponents.

In their last three games, Ole Miss has lost to Mississippi State, Texas A&M, and Missouri. That includes two games that were decided by one possession or less. Still, Beard has know there are reasons to be frustrated. He called the beginning of the game against Mississippi State “unacceptable” and said he hoped it would act as a reminder to the team. He would then later go on to apologize to fans after the Texas A&M loss.

“Right now we’re in a little slide,” Beard said. “We played three of the best teams in the country. So, it’s understandable in this league. We’ve just got to keep working. It’s a long season. It’s an 18-round fight. We’ve got to play better and most importantly stay the course.”

Ole Miss will be back in action on Wednesday when they host the Texas Longhorns. For Chris Beard, it’s a chance to compete against a school he was previously the head coach of as well as find a way to get his team to end a tough losing streak. If Ole Miss isn’t able to get a win in that game, then they’ll need to try and find a way to beat one of the best teams in the country in the Auburn Tigers on Saturday.