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WATCH: Matthew Murrell took over against Vanderbilt - just as Chris Beard, Ole Miss expect

Ben Garrettby:Ben Garrett01/13/24

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Ole Miss guard Matthew Murrell

First-year Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard has a handful of key program tenets.

Among them, he wants his team to be player-led. First and foremost, he calls on his veterans to speak up and carry out his marching orders on and off the floor. But he’s also got a slow timeout trigger and prefers to sit rather than constantly pace an in-game sideline. Beard allows his players more leeway than most to make mistakes and self-correct.

His results speak for themselves. Beard is angling to make the Rebels the fourth separate team he’s led to the NCAA Tournament since 2016. The Rebels, who’ve been just nine times in their 100-plus-year history, are well on their way following a 69-56 win over Vanderbilt on Saturday.

Senior and four-year starting guard Matthew Murrell carried Ole Miss with 24 points on 9 of 17 shooting. He made 6 of 12 threes and tied for the team lead in rebounds (6). Ole Miss improved to 15-1 (2-1 SEC) and secured the Pavilion’s longest winning streak (10).

“Me and coach have conversations all the time,” Murrell said afterwards. “That’s a big thing he challenges me to do is lead and take over team. He says the team can’t be successful unless it’s player-led.”

The Rebels already have wins over Florida, NC State, Memphis and UCF. They’re 4-1 against Q1 and Q2 teams and next travel to LSU on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 6 p.m. CT.

“Guys were talking about it before and after the game,” Beard said of the home crowd for Ole Miss-Vanderbilt. “There’s definitely some positive momentum in our program right now, and it’s not just all based on the scoreboard. It’s a lot of things going on with the program.”

The included videos, among them game highlights, were originally provided by Ole Miss Athletics.

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