Chris Beard: Ole Miss has 'a home court advantage' again with record-setting win streak
The first season of Ole Miss basketball under Chris Beard is proving to be one for the history books and the first phase of reinvigorating the home crowd and resurrecting a once intimidating home atmosphere.
Saturday’s 69-56 win over Vanderbilt was the Rebels 10 straight inside the SJB Pavilion, setting a new facility record and replacing the current record held by the men’s team of nine consecutive wins.
Ole Miss (15-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) is currently on an 11-game home winning streak to start the season but one game took place across the street inside C.M. ‘Tad’ Smith Coliseum as a throwback game Beard put together in November.
Still, with wins over North Carolina State, Memphis and the pair of SEC wins over Florida and Vanderbilt this week the crowds are starting to return in bulk and Ole Miss fans building a buzz in Oxford once more.
“Program-wise I just think a lot’s gone into this,” Beard said during his postgame comments on Saturday. “We have a home-court advantage in Oxford now. It’s got to continue to get better and it will but the main message is, ‘Thank you,’ to all the people that are jumping on board early. Not just today but from the season opener to the throwback game, some games during the (winter) break. We’ve had great attendance and it’s only going to get better.”
The Rebels need four more wins to crack into the Top 5 of longest home winning streaks. The record is still 29 straight from January 11, 1997 to January 6, 1999.
Ole Miss has surpassed last season’s win total by three due to the work Beard has done to assemble the best roster possible.
That involved three different groups of players: returners, transfer portal and freshmen class.
Veteran players Matthew Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefield made the decision to stay and become foundation pieces to what Beard is building. The Ole Miss duo was mixed in with transfer additions of Allen Flanigan, Jaylen ‘JuJu’ Murray, Moussa Cisse, Jamarion Sharp and Brandon Murray.
Do not forget the valuable minutes freshman Rashaud Marshall has contributed, too.
The ingredients have come together to create a winning concoction that is bringing excitement and energy to the program as well as to the seats inside the Pavilion.
After Saturday’s game Vanderbilt head coach Jerry Stackhouse had choice words regarding Ole Miss and other teams opting to use the transfer portal to their advantage.
“Best team money can buy,” Stackhouse said. “That’s what they are and that’s how they approached it. They got it done. It’s about adding experience. You go into the portal and add juniors and seniors. We don’t add juniors and seniors at Vanderbilt. They just don’t transfer to us. That’s what it is.”
Beard is unapologetic in embracing the transfer portal to better his roster and mold it into a winning team that he promised 10 months ago during his introductory press comments.
“Today’s college basketball, the portal’s reality,” Beard said. “You can either embrace it or run from it and we certainly have (embraced it). …It’s all about recruiting. Whatever way we have to find them, wherever we have to go. We’re trying to get players here that can compete for SEC championships. This first year’s team, we have good players. There will be no asterisks next to this first year’s team.”
