Everything Chris Beard said after Ole Miss’ first tourney win in nearly a decade

Ole Miss men’s basketball on Friday secured its first NCAA Tournament win in nearly a decade. 

The Rebels pulled it off by fending off a furious comeback from one of college basketball’s bluest of blue-bloods.

No. 6 seed Ole Miss (23-11) advanced to the round of 32 for just the fourth time in program history with a 71-64 win over 11-seed North Carolina (23-14). 

The Rebels led by as many as 22 points. The Tar Heels battled back to within two, 66-64, with 1:09 left. 

Sean Pedulla nailed the first 3 of the second half for Ole Miss with 52.8 seconds remaining to push the lead to five. Pedulla scored a game-high 20 points and accounted for the Rebels’ final five points, including a pair of game-sealing free throws.

The Rebels next face 3-seed Iowa State (25-9) Sunday at time yet to be announced.

Second-year Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard improved to 6-0 in his career in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels are the fourth separate team he’s taken to the ‘Big Dance.’

Here’s everything Beard had to say afterwards.

OPENING STATEMENT

BEARD: It kind of starts with our respect for the opponent, a team that really hasn’t lost a game since Christmas besides Duke. We knew we were going to get their best shot. We knew their run was coming in the second half.

A really good win for us. A lot of respect for our opponent. First half was one of our best halves of the year. That’s what it takes in the NCAA Tournament. Second half, we’d like a lot of things back. Give North Carolina credit. We knew the comeback was coming. Sure enough, it did.

“Was really impressed with the poise of our guys in the last couple minutes of the game.”

As a coach, you never want to be out of time-outs. We had to use some of the time-outs to solve some issues in the second half.

I thought we did a good job late, executing on offense, getting the ball where we wanted it to be and getting the ball inbounds even when we didn’t have time-outs left.

We came here to Milwaukee. We set it up as a four-team tournament. We’re halfway through it, 40 minutes to the Sweet 16. Proud of these guys in our first victory in this year’s tournament.

ON CRITICAL DEFENSIVE REBOUNDS IN THE FINAL MINUTES

BEARD: Interesting thing. I don’t know if we’ve been beat this year when we out-rebound the opponent. Seems like we could figure out a way to always out-rebound our opponent. It’s been a challenge this year.

I thought we were very competitive on the glass. Again, the last several minutes of the game being played without a time-out, I thought the veteran players did a good job. We switched defensive coverages a few times without a time-out and then were able to execute at least enough offensively to get the right guy the ball in the right spot.

ON THE STRONG SHOWING FROM OLE MISS FANS

BEARD: It’s a special place. Anybody that hasn’t been to Oxford, everything you’ve heard in a positive light is true. It’s a college town. We’ve also got a great state in Mississippi that — kind of a state divided, but we’ve got our share of Ole Miss fans.

Our fans travel not only for basketball but for other sports as well. It wasn’t surprising but definitely appreciated. Our players were talking about it before the game when they went out for the first warm-ups. So thank you to everybody who came and supported us today. I know it’s not easy. It’s real time, real expense, real money to get here. So we never take it for granted.

We’re in our second year at Ole Miss. We’re building something special sooner than people thought, but a big part of it is our fan base, period.

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ON FENDING OFF UNC’S RUN

BEARD: It’s a good question. I think if I’m not mistaken, the last game Carolina played before the play-in game was another comeback type thing against Duke, maybe. So we had mentioned that several times in preparation, that it’s going to be a long game. It’s a game of runs.

So in those moments, we were just reminding everybody of the preparation we had. I did think in some of those runs, we got some good shots around the basket and didn’t make them. They hit a couple. I think both teams benefited from fortune.

R.J. Davis doesn’t miss that many good looks. We were fortunate there. But I think the same thing could be said for us. We felt like we got a lot of good shots, especially in the second half, that just didn’t go in.

Our guys had a lot of poise down the stretch, no doubt about it. Again, give Carolina credit for a courageous comeback.

ON SEAN PEDULLA AS A CRUNCH-TIME PLAYER

BEARD: Our word is poise, stone-faced, don’t get too high or too low. We have a veteran team. Sean and Juju have both played in the NCAA Tournament before. I think that showed early. They did a great job getting some of their teammates that haven’t played in this tournament before prepared.

I think a lot of things about our team. I think we looked poised at times. We were composed when it mattered most. I didn’t see anything about our team today that looked like there was any fraught in our program. I saw a team that had a good season in the SEC just beat North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

ON THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WIN FOR THE SENIORS

BEARD: We set up every tournament, four-team tournament. We came here to win two games. It’s going to be challenging. Our next opponent is one of the best teams in college basketball.

For our players, we’ve got so many seniors, guys fourth, fifth year in college basketball that have literally checked every box in their careers. Several of them hasn’t participated in the NCAA Tournament. We felt that pressure and urgency all the way back from the summer, through our nonconference schedule. To get here, we’re really happy to be here.

Now the message is, hey, our story isn’t that we made the NCAA Tournament. Let’s make a run in this tournament. Really, really pleased and happy for our seniors.

RELATED: Ole Miss showed ‘poise’ in the closing minutes of its its first NCAA Tournament win in a decade

ON SENIORS IN KEY MOMENTS

BEARD: Definitely not automatic. If there was something automatic in recruiting or coaching, we’d do it every time.

I’ve had some seniors before that weren’t associated with poise, but this group is a little bit different. We’ve got really mature people off the court as well, guys that handle their business and have great balance in their lives.

So, you know, when the season starts, you always go over your strengths and your weaknesses, your weapons or your threats. Consistent across the board, from players to coaches, we did think that one part of our identity this year could be our composure and experience. We’ve got a group that really never gets too high or too low. That’s been a good thing all year.

ON OLE MISS’ FIRST ROUND OF 32 SINCE 2013

BEARD: This is my second year at Ole Miss, and some of our players, it’s the first year.

We certainly respect and are knowledgeable about the past in our program. We feel the opportunity and the pressure to do things for our fan base. But in terms of how history relates to our team, again, we’ve got a lot of players. It’s the first season at Ole Miss. So, again, four-team tournament. We’re 1-0. Big opportunity on Saturday — or Sunday, excuse me.

ON THE HIGH-SCORING FIRST HALF FOR THE REBELS

BEARD: It really helps. Basketball is a lot easier game when the ball’s going in. We had a similar game in Nashville just a few days ago against Auburn, I believe, where we just couldn’t get one to go in. If we’d have shot that day like we shot tonight, might have been a different outcome.

In terms of shooting, we’re looking at getting the right shot by the right person. Are we disciplined in our footwork and follow through? Was the pass a strike and not a ball?

Obviously, we hit some shots, but our shots were assisted for the most part in the first half. A lot of things go into that.

ON IOWA STATE

BEARD: They’ve got a great coach. T.J. and I have gone at it before. Certainly, our years in the Big 12, the program he’s built there and sustained, it’s real.

I watch a lot of college basketball throughout the season. So I’ve seen his team play several times. I haven’t started any preparation on that game, but we had staff members working on that ahead of time.

But I know this. One of the best teams in college basketball, period. Defensive identity, really good coach, and a lot of talented players that we’ve been following for years, both coaching against them, recruited some of those guys.

This will be a real round of 32 game. These are two teams that, you know, are worthy to get in the second weekend. We’ll have to play our best 40 minutes. We’ll have to play better than we did today for 40 minutes to be successful on Sunday.