Chris Beard: 'This team does not have the discipline that it takes to win the SEC'

Chris Beard was not happy with his team’s performance against Texas A&M on Saturday night. A blowout from the beginning, Ole Miss was not too competitive in front of the home crowd. So much so that Beard claimed to be looking into getting attending fans refunds.

Competing for championships is the level Beard always expects to be at. Ole Miss fell well short this season, with Beard blaming his team’s discipline. While the Texas A&M game was the latest example, this has been a reoccurring issue for the Rebels.

“We’ve had issues all season,” Beard said. “I don’t know if concerned is the word or not. But I’ll tell you what — this team does not have the discipline that it takes to win the SEC. Doing the right thing time after time after time. So, I’ll just stand true to that today and I’m not pulling that out of my back pocket on a disappointing day. Discipline has been an issue all season.”

Ole Miss started the year well, going undefeated in nonconference play, and began this SEC schedule with a 5-3 record. While winning the SEC might have not been in the equation, making the NCAA Tournament was a real possibility.

However, in the final 10 games of the season, eight of them resulted in losses. The only two wins came against Missouri, a winless team in SEC play. A crushing series of results down the stretch for Ole Miss after a bright start.

Beard just never saw the consistency from his team. Putting together a complete game was Ole Miss’ biggest problem in his eyes and something he wants to work on moving forward.

“We’ve had some 40-minute games where we were disciplined enough to compete,” Beard said. “Certainly, today was a day where the game starts with that, just the first couple of minutes of the game. Discipline has been an issue and we just got to continue to work toward that.”

The SEC Tournament will allow Ole Miss to prove something in Nashville. Making a run would be great for the program, even if their postseason chances are unlikely. Beard seeing his squad putting the pieces together for 40 minutes would instill confidence heading into the 2024-2025 season.

Texas A&M will likely be the opponent on Thursday night, a few days after Saturday’s result. Another 40 minutes against a team Ole Miss came out flat against is on deck.