'One of the best teams in college basketball': Chris Beard explains why Tennessee is a Final Four contender

Chris Beard’s 22nd-ranked Ole Miss team was perfect during the non-conference schedule, reeling off 13 straight wins to start the season, including back-to-back home games over North Carolina State and Memphis.

Then Beard, in his first year with the Rebels, made his debut in the Southeastern Conference Saturday inside a sold-out Thompson-Boling Arena, getting drubbed by No. 5 Tennessee 90-64.

“I was very impressed with the crowd,” Beard said during his postgame press conference. “It’s a great, great basketball venue. Super impressed with everything about this place.”

He was even more impressed with what Rick Barnes has at his disposal this season.

“I’ll start by saying this Tennessee team is really good,” Beard said. “I don’t know Coach Barnes would agree with this, but I think they’re a Final Four contender.”

‘They have experience, size, great point guard play’

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo said the same thing after Tennessee beat his Spartans 89-88 in a charity exhibition game in East Lansing in late October. Illinois coach Brad Underwood said the same after losing in Knoxville a month ago. 

So did Lenoir-Rhyne’s Everick Sullivan and Tennessee Tech’s John Pelphrey. 

But Beard, who took Texas Tech to the national championship game in 2019, after a run to the Elite Eight in 2018, went in depth on why he thinks the Vols could make a run in March that they’ve never made before.

“They have experience, size, great point guard play,” Beard said. “They have an identity, that’s their defense and rebounding. And offensively, they just have a lot of weapons. They can play a lot of different ways. So really, really impressed with them.”

Ole Miss entered the Tennessee game with a strength of schedule ranked No. 316 according to KenPom.com. The Vols have played the 16th hardest schedule to date with losses coming against Purdue, Kansas and North Carolina, teams ranked No. 1, No. 2 and No. 8 in the current Associated Press Top 25.

“You’re literally looking at a team one basket away from beating, what, Kansas and Purdue,” Beard said, “and we’re sitting here today, they’re probably the No. 1 team in the country.”

Up Next: No. 5 Tennessee at Mississippi State, Wednesday, 7 p.m. ET, SEC Network

Tennessee’s offense has taken steps forward so far this season, ranked No. 24 in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency. And it pairs with a defense that has met the Barnes standard.

The Vols are ranked No. 2 in adjusted defensive efficiency after finishing No. 1, No. 3 and No. 5, respectively, the last three seasons.

“That’s their identity,” Beard said. “Coach Barnes teams have always been like that. You’ve got five players playing for Tennessee. And nobody takes a playoff. There’s not a weak link defensively. There might be a guy that maybe is not as quick as athletic as the next guy, but their effort is on point. There are five guys playing team basketball on defense and that’s not just tonight’s game. That’s all season long. 

“… Definitely one of the best defensive teams in college basketball. Great ball pressure from their guards. They have rim protection with their two bigs and they have what we call positionless players that can switch a lot of things. So I was really impressed with the defense.”

Beard said his team “got kicked” in the loss at Tennessee. He called the Vols “grown men” and said throw out any discussion about scheme or X’s and O’s because Ole Miss “literally just got whipped.”

“Tip your hat to Tennessee,” he said, “(they’ve) got one of the best teams in college basketball, in my opinion.”