Everything Chris Beard said after Ole Miss beat Arkansas in SEC Tournament opener

The Ole Miss men’s basketball team is still in Nashville after Sean Pedulla’s game-winner over Arkansas, advancing to the quarterfinals of the Southeastern Conference Tournament for the first time since 2021.

Friday will see the 8 Seed Rebels (22-10) face 1 Seed Auburn (27-4) at Noon CT on ESPN for the chance to reach Saturday’s semifinals. An Ole Miss will would mean their first time making the weekend of the tournament since winning it all in 2013.

Here is everything head coach Chris Beard said after Thursday’s thriller in the Music City.

Opening Statement

Beard: Good March college basketball game. Had to be great for the fans on both sides. A lot of respect for the opponent. Hall of Fame coach. Seven-man rotation right now. In my opinion, told the guys this last night, I think all seven are either draft picks or guys that have a chance to be NBA players in the future.

We consider this a great win, maybe one of the best of the season. Arkansas had won five of their last six or six of their last seven. To me it was maybe kind of a second weekend-type game. A talented team.

I think both teams played really well in segments of the game. There were portions in the first half, in the middle of the second half where Ole Miss was playing about as well as we could play. Arkansas, the same. There were portions, especially in the second half, where they were on full cylinders.

We wish those guys the best of luck in the NCAA tournament. A lot of respect for Coach Cal. A really good win if our team.

I don’t view this as the first game in Nashville. I view this as we competed with a team that has second-weekend NCAA tournament written all over ’em.

On Ole Miss Facing Auburn for a third time this season

Beard: Yeah, opportunity. One of if not the best team in college basketball. It’s a 40-minute game, so… It’s not going to be the better team, it’s going to be the better team that played those 40 minutes.

I think we would all agree that Auburn is one of the best teams in the country. I think we’d all agree it’s a great challenge for us. But it’s a 40-minute game. That’s what makes March special.

We don’t have to be better than Auburn, we just got to be better than Auburn for 40 minutes.

On if the SEC Tournament format prepare a team for NCAA Tournament format

Beard: Yeah, I think so, every step of the way. Just like non-conference games, Louisville, Purdue, BYU, Colorado State. These are NCAA tournament teams. Certainly in our league every single night you’re playing against an NCAA tournament, roster, coach, team and talent.

Two tournaments in March. We’re fortunate enough to know we’re going to participate in both. We actually came here to win this tournament. I know a lot of people don’t understand that. We set this up. We always say the first game in any tournament is the most important. It’s a singular focus, laser focus. Only thing we talked about was our first game.

Four-team tournament. We beat bye, we got the bye. So that was the first game. Today we won the four-team tournament. So now it’s onto the next four-team tournament. Again, the most important game in any tournament is the first game. Now it’s all Auburn.

We’ll obviously have to play our best 40 minutes of the season. That’s no different when you get to the NCAA tournament. You better put your best 40 out there, especially as the rounds continue.

On Mikeal Brown-Jones’ absence on the Ole Miss bench

Beard: Absolutely. Just had a personal today. We hope he can rejoin the team as quick as possible. It’s just a personal issue, period. Mikeal is a big, big part of this team. We don’t win this game today if Mikeal Brown is not on this team.

Thoughts on Arkansas’ turnaround after 0-5 start in SEC Play

Beard: Here’s my look on it. It starts with Coach Cal. He’s been doing this a long time. Not just Kentucky, lead story on SportsCenter every night, but at other schools around the way. UMass, Memphis, others.

He knows what he’s doing. It’s proven over time. I think their team, like most teams, has changed throughout the year. They had a lot of adversity early, things they couldn’t control. When the dust settles, in my opinion, a second-weekend type team. The seven guys in their rotation right now are really, really good players.

We value this as a huge win, almost like a second weekend-type win for us.

I think with Cal, when he got to 0-5 or something, I just kept explaining to our guys in the locker room as we watched the SEC lists, when I say these are NCAA tournament teams, I never had Arkansas not on that list, even despite the 0-5, because with that talent on the roster and that coach, it was just a matter of time till they figured it out.

I would argue they’re playing the best basketball in the country right now. Six out of their last seven in the SEC, five out of the last six wins, you think about this league, you think about a two-game winning streak in this conference is a honeymoon, a vacation. They want to built a statue for you if you get to three in a row.

For Arkansas to be playing the kind of ball they are right now in late February and March I think speaks a lot about their talent and coach.

Playing Hall of Fame coaches John Calipari and Bruce Pearl and if it is satisfying ‘someone like you’ playing and beating them.

Beard: I’m not sure what you mean by somebody like me. We won at Fort Scott, Seminole, McMurray, South Carolina, Angelo State, Little Rock, we won at Texas Tech, we won at Texas. This is year two, and we’re winning at Ole Miss. I don’t say that as a self-promotion way at all. I’m going to take up for our staff and players. The way you worded that…

This isn’t my first rodeo. I might look young because I got a haircut last night. I have this trendy beard that my daughters like. I’ve been doing this for a minute.

Anytime you have a chance to coach against a Hall of Fame coach, absolutely. We all understand that. To say anything different would not be truthful. In this league it’s almost every single night.

Coach Cal and tomorrow Bruce Pearl. Yeah, we’ll see where we stack up. But this is not our first rodeo.

On if the SEC strengthens Ole Miss for NCAA Tournament or provides too much wear and tear

Beard: I think both ways. That’s a conversation that basketball people have. Even the coaches talk about that in their spring meetings. It’s the gauntlet.

Especially the two teams that play on Sunday in this tournament, you turn back around, you could be playing on Thursday.

One, the obvious, you’re playing against great competition for two and a half months. You’re going to be prepared. There’s nobody you’re going to see on that bracket that you haven’t faced those types of challenges.

Two, the other side of the coin, it’s worth thinking about because this is an absolute grind. I think there will be other teams in the tournament, not that they’ve rested, but they haven’t had this mental and physical challenge twice a week since early January.

When I was younger, I would always go, Players can play. We grew up playing all day long. It doesn’t matter.

But we got a banged-up team. I think everybody in this tournament is probably banged up in some way. I know recovery, sleep, hydration, rest. When I first got started at this, our practice would be two and a half hours. Our practice schedule is 45 minutes now. We understand that recovery and rest and mental rest, as well, is really important.

I think nobody will know until we see. We’ll see what happens, if this league produces second-weekend teams, third-weekend teams, has a couple teams in the Final Four. It will be interesting to see. From a basketball fan, I pay attention to that, too.

On coaching a player like Pedulla with a shooter’s mindset

Beard: Yeah, we got a few of those guys. They’re just guys that have extreme confidence no matter what the situation, score. Short-term memory. Sean is one of those guys. We got several of those guys on this team, which is another reason why I think we have a chance to be a factor tonight.

Tonight, perfect example, five guys in double-figure scoring. That was the design. All these guys checked their ego in the recruiting process. They knew what they were signing up for here. We never talk about leading scorer, points per game. Sean has courage. He wants the ball in that moment. We have couple other guys with that mindset, as well.