Ole Miss delivered the first major surprise of the 2026 SEC Tournament on Wednesday, knocking off No. 10 seed Texas 76-66.
The 15th-seeded Rebels approached the game like many they’ve played this season. The difference this time was execution. Ole Miss converted key shots, controlled the boards, and kept up its strong defensive pressure from start to finish.
After the game, Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard met with reporters to discuss the upset win. Here’s what he had to say.
Ole Miss Coach Chris Beard
Opening Statement…
It’s obviously a good win for our team — kind of surviving and advancing. A lot of respect for the opponent. I think Sean has done a really good job in his first season there. I wish those guys the best of luck in the NCAA Tournament. I think they have good enough players to make a run.
For our guys, it’s pretty simple. It’s been a season filled with adversity. We didn’t get a lot of breaks and didn’t create enough of our own, but for these guys to still be playing this hard and this connected — not only today in the SEC Tournament but really the last couple weeks of the season — it says a lot about their character and how they were raised.
I’m really appreciative of our players continuing to fight. Today was a good example of how our team can play when we play well.
Everyone eventually ends up in the situation we’re in now — survive and advance. For a lot of teams it’ll be next week in the NCAA Tournament, but for us it’s right now. We didn’t come to Nashville to win just one game. We came to win one game at a time. There’s still belief in our locker room that we can make a run here.
I thought our guys did a lot of good things today and showed great poise in a win-or-go-home situation.
On interior defense…
Several things. James, who just walked off the stage, had one of his best games of the season. He protected the rim and played with great energy. We also got good contributions from Corey Chest and Klafke. Even undersized, he made some tough plays in the paint.
Our guys did a good job executing a multi-layered game plan. We also caught a bit of a break with him getting into foul trouble, but our players deserve credit for executing.
On defensive composure late in the game…
Honestly, this might sound simple, but we’re in survive-and-advance mode and we know it. Despite what people might think from our record, we’re actually having fun and we don’t want the season to end.
We want one more practice, one more film session, one more meal together.
When Texas hit a couple threes late, we just talked about breathing and getting a stop. We also tried to get more player voices in the huddle. I think the biggest thing was a little calmness and focus. We didn’t want to leave Nashville tonight.
On if this was how he envisioned this Ole Miss team playing all season…
I’m trying not to think that way right now. My focus is that we get to play tomorrow.
But tonight we had a good rotation. Every player who played contributed positively. Against a good opponent, that was one of our better team efforts.
On resetting to face No. 7-seed Georgia…
We have a process we believe in. First we’ll hydrate before leaving the building, then get back, eat a good meal, and get the guys off their feet for a couple hours. We encourage them to turn off their phones and just enjoy March — maybe watch some games on TV.
Later tonight we’ll introduce Georgia. Rest is more important than extra practice hours right now. That approach has worked for us before.
On winning with just one made three-pointer…
Our defense was good in stretches and we didn’t settle offensively. We drove the ball and got mid-range looks we like. The three wasn’t falling tonight — Travis Perry had a couple good looks he usually makes — but to win a game like this without hitting threes says our guys played well.
On Longhorns’ NCAA odds…
I think their résumé speaks for itself in the SEC. Sean knows what he’s doing and they have really good players. The NCAA Tournament often comes down to matchups, and Texas has the kind of players who could carry them into the second weekend.
