WATCH: Chris Beard literally went back to the drawing board to stave off USC comeback
South Carolina torched Ole Miss in the paint Wednesday night to fuel a comeback bid.
The Gamecocks also decisively won the free-throw differential. It was all almost enough to erase a 13-point Rebel lead for what would have been their first SEC win of the year.
Ole Miss, though, had other plans.
Second-year head coach Chris Beard and Co. quite literally went back to the drawing board in order to stave off the upset attempt.
“South Carolina was just kind of imposing their will on us,” Beard said in his postgame press conference. “They were committed to the high-low and getting inside. I think even in the first half their last nine possessions of the half they got the ball in the paint. We had to do something crazy.”
RELATED: Everything Chris Beard said after Ole Miss survived South Carolina
Beard said he borrowed from legendary coach Rick Pitino.
Pitino, who’s now at St. John’s, previously led Louisville to the Final Four. The Cardinals were having trouble against West Virginia in Albuquerque. The story goes Pitino scrapped the originally game plan and drew up a new defense on the fly.
Ole Miss essentially did the same at South Carolina, a 72-68 win. Six of the Gamecocks’ 11 SEC losses have come by five points or less. They’re still Top 100 in the NET. Ole Miss is in the 20s.
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“That’s kind of what we did tonight to steal a couple possessions in a 3-2 zone look to basically try to keep the ball out of the paint,” Beard said. “That was a big part of the game — our players’ willingness to believe and try some new things.
“They were in a rhythm where we couldn’t keep the ball out of the paint. We had to pull out the clipboard or dry-erase board and try something.”
Next for the Rebels (19-6, 8-4 SEC) is in-state rival Mississippi State. The No. 22-ranked Bulldogs (17-7, 5-6) roll into Oxford Saturday at 5 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
The included game highlights were provided by Ole Miss Athletics.
