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Let Madness Reign: Ole Miss basketball, far from frauds, hits Milwaukee for NCAA Tournament

Ben Garrettby:Ben Garrett•about 14 hours•

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Ole Miss basketball is in Milwaukee for the NCAA Tournament (Photo credit: Ole Miss Basketball/X)

Second-year Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard already addressed CBS analyst Tim Doyle calling the Rebels a ‘fraud’ in the NCAA Tournament field. 

But Beard went a step further Wednesday on the ‘Jim Rome Show.’

“I didn’t know about it until the local media asked me,” Beard said. “Normally you just kind of let that stuff roll off your back, no problem. But the word fraud is pretty strong. If you want to talk about our transition defense or our shooting percentages, no problem. But I think fraud’s more of a personal attack on our players. I didn’t appreciate it, and I don’t think it’s worthy. Friday night we’ll have a chance to make amends. 

“That guy, I couldn’t pick him out of a lineup, but I hope he’s in Milwaukee. I hope he’s in the press conference after the game. I’d love to meet him.”

Ole Miss won 22 games this season, including 10 in the SEC. The Rebels are the fourth separate program Beard has led to March Madness. 

They’re a 6-seed and in the field for just the 10th time in school history. They’ll face 11-seed North Carolina on Friday at approximately 3:-5 p.m. CT on TNT. The Tar Heels defeated San Diego State in the play-in game earlier this week. The teams are meeting for just the third time ever.

Beard’s Strategic Seating: Ole Miss coach brings veteran Rebels into NCAA Tournament spotlight

Ole Miss is in the South Region, which also features top overall seed Auburn and 4-seed Texas A&M.

Fourteen of the SEC’s 16 teams account for 20 percent of the overall field. The SEC had a collective 89 percent winning percentage in the non-conference, a first in college basketball history.

“Definitely the top four or five,” Beard said, when asked by Rome which SEC teams have a realistic shot at winning it all. “I don’t want to forget anybody, but definitely Florida, Alabama, Auburn (and) Tennessee with their defense and Hall of Fame coach. I think there’s some teams that you would almost call them favorites, depending on how the bracket opens up. 

“Then I think you put us in that next tier. Are we good enough to win six games in three weekends? Yes. Is it probable? No. But possible? Definitely. We’ll have to play our best basketball of the season. I think there’s some other teams that might be able to get away with their B, B+ games in the first couple of rounds. We’re not one of those teams. 

“But I think there’s a legitimate argument you could see this thing kind of open up, where there would be multiple teams from the SEC in the Final Four.”

The Rebels would draw 3-seed Iowa State or 14-seed Lipscomb should they advance. 

Iowa State lead guard Keshon Gilbert has already been ruled out for the postseason with a groin injury.

Ole Miss is 5-9 all-time in tournament play and were included in Andy Katz’s ‘Dark Horse Final Four.’
The Rebels’ greatest single-season accomplishment was a single Sweet 16 appearance in 2001.

Ole Miss has played in Milwaukee once before — in 1999. The Rebels defeated Villanova in the first round of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Michigan State in the second. 

Their 6-seed is the highest since 2001, and the third highest overall. The Rebels left out for Milwaukee on Wednesday. The included photos were provided by Ole Miss Athletics.

Malik Dia

An Ole Miss fan embraces Robert Cowherd

Dre Davis

Jaemyn Brakefield

Cam Brent

Ja’Von Benson

Matthew Murrell

Dre Davis

Sean Pedulla

Matthew Murrell

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