‘Ole Miss basketball isn’t going anywhere’: Everything Beard and Co. said after Sweet 16 loss

An historic season for Ole Miss men’s basketball came to an end Friday in the Sweet 16. 

The 6-seed Rebels led 2-seed Michigan State by as many as 10 points. Sean Pedulla recorded his third straight NCAA Tournament game with 20 or more points. He finished with 24, leading all scorers. 

Three Rebels scored in double figures. It wasn’t enough.

Fifth-year senior Matthew Murrell had 13, including a half-court 3 as time expired for the 73-70 final. Pedulla and Murrell are two of nine seniors Ole Miss is losing. The Rebels finished the year 24-12. Friday was just the second Sweet 16 appearance in the 115-year history of Ole Miss basketball. 

Malik Dia had 11 and could return. He told the Ole Miss Spirit’s Jake Thompson in the locker room afterwards he’d talk to now-third-year Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard before making a decision.

“If he’s going to build this program,” Dia offered, “I’m right there with him.”

Ole Miss this season tied for the program’s third-most wins, while the offense, scoring nearly 2,800 points, finished Top 5 in school history. The Rebels’ 10 SEC wins are tied for eighth. Ole Miss had the second-most steals by a single Rebel team, and the Rebels also set the record for made 3s. 

Ole Miss picked up two of the school’s three all-time wins over an Associated Press No. 4 team. The Rebels won at No. 4 Alabama and defeated No. 4 Tennessee at home. They’re 7-10 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. 

Here’s everything Beard and players said afterwards.

OPENING STATEMENT

BEARD: Every season ends for every team except for one, with the feelings we have right now. It’s a little bit different for me this year. You dread that walk back to the locker room to talk to your guys, but this year just felt different.

I’m just so thankful. I’ve never been this kind of emotion when a season ends, but I’m just thankful for these guys. To be in the Sweet 16 our second year at Ole Miss, it’s the players, especially these two guys to my left that endured the coaching change and stuck with us and decided to come back their last year and play for us.

Just thankful, you know. From a coaching standpoint, you don’t want to get beat your last game of the season, and I didn’t think we did. I thought today we just ran out of time.

A lot of respect for Michigan State and Coach Izzo. I thought our guys went pound for pound, nose to nose. That was a really tough basketball game. I thought it would be the first one to 70 wins, and it turned out to be almost true.

“But just really thankful and proud of our guys.”

And the best thing that they did and the thing I’m most thankful for — not just myself, but for them — I’m thankful that they did this for themselves is they raised expectations. Nobody in the country thought we’d be in the Sweet 16 second year at Ole Miss when the season started, but these guys had their own expectations, and I’m really thankful for that.

We played some really good basketball in the last month, beat Tennessee at home and Arkansas in Nashville. We went head to head with Auburn. And to get through North Carolina and Iowa State — again, today I thought we ran out of time. I didn’t think we lost the game.

Just super appreciative of our players raising the expectations for themselves and our program. Now our fans feel it, our students feel it, our town feels it.

Ole Miss basketball isn’t going anywhere, and we’ll never forget these seniors that took us on a special ride this year.

ON MURRELL AND JAEMYN BRAKEFIELD STICKING IT OUT AT OLE MISS

BRAKEFIELD: It means a lot, obviously just sticking around and seeing the growth. Even off the court, in the community, just engagement in general. Oxford is a beautiful place, and I’m glad that we were able to execute.

MURRELL: Just being able to be a part of the change, it’s definitely been something special. Ole Miss wasn’t really on the national map a couple years back, and we felt like we’ve been able to grow it throughout the years. Like Coach Beard said, Ole Miss will be here to stay.

ON THE DIFFERENCE IN THE GAME

MURRELL: It just came down to which team made the fewest mistakes. It came down to just execution. They got the upper hand at the end.

ON WHAT MICHIGAN STATE GETTING TO THE RIM

BEARD: Obviously the difference in the game was the free-throw differential period. We out-rebounded them. We took care of the basketball. It was a helluva basketball game.

Again, first one to 70 is probably going to win this thing. Baskets were hard to come by for both teams. I thought the free-throw differential in the game, maybe there will be another time and setting to talk about that. Yeah, I thought that was the difference in the game.

We didn’t get to the bonus in the first half at all I think, and in the second half at the very end.

Give Michigan State credit. Obviously it was their offensive game plan. They weren’t going inside as much to their post players. Their guards were just trying to attack. So I thought that was the difference in the game, the free-throw differential.

BANG‼️ pic.twitter.com/c44U3RNohX

— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 29, 2025

ON SEAN PEDULLA’S EFFORT

BEARD: I think there’s other times to talk about individual players. The thing about us, guys, is we were a team. We were a team that had five or six guys that averaged double figures. We were a team that had very little ego individually.

I’m so proud of these guys. I’ve kind of bit my tongue all year long because I didn’t want to be the coach’s speak. Matt Murrell played hurt most of the season. I said it a few times when I just couldn’t take it. A lot of guys in college basketball wouldn’t be playing this year with what Matt endured. Now we look forward to him getting healthy and going through the spring process to get his body right before he transitions to pro basketball.

“Brakefield, you guys might have heard us tell this story, but he basically helped us put this team together.”

He was part of every official visit, almost every initial phone call and zoom. He had his hands all over this team. I don’t know what Brake’s going to do later in life, but the minute he tells me he wants to coach, he has a job — although I’ll try to do everything I can to discourage him to do that.

But we were a team. Tonight is not about individual players or individual questions. Hope you respect that. Ole Miss, we had a bunch of guys check their ego at the doors, and we became a team. It took a while, but again, by the end of the year, we were playing some great basketball. Our last three or four weeks, we were deserving to be in the Sweet 16, and I really thought we could be a factor in San Antonio.

ON MURRELL’S BIGGEST TAKEAWAY FROM THE SEASON

MURRELL: It was definitely a special season, a season I won’t forget, not just for the run that we made, but just the camaraderie, the teammates that I had. It was a very tough season for me. Obviously Coach talked about it. I’ve been injured most of the season. Just this team helped my confidence so much fighting through everything. So this group of guys will hold a special place in my heart.

ON PRESSURE OF FIRST SWEET 16 SINCE 2001

BEARD: Zero factor, and I’ll repeat what I said. The thing I’m most thankful for, really why my emotions are different right now than at the end of any season, I’m just thankful. What these guys did — what these guys did is they raised expectations, first for themselves and then the program.

When we were at the Selection Sunday show in March and the name came across, it wasn’t about like we’ve made it, it was about let’s get to work. Six games in three weekends. For that, I’ll forever be thankful. I know they’re going to do that for the rest of their lives. Whatever they want, they’re going to go get.

I’ve been blessed to coach a lot of great teams, but these guys were different. Literally we walked around expecting to win the SEC, expecting to win every game, and expecting to make it to San Antonio, and it was beautiful to be around.