Chris Beard referred to Central Arkansas as an NCAA Tournament team earlier this week.
If the Bears do end up with an invite to the big dance, Ole Miss could be a first round opponent. Because, based on how thoroughly the Rebels dominated UCA on Friday night, they’ll be dancing too.
Ole Miss dominated the Bears from the opening tip to the final buzzer in a 92-60 win at SJB Pavilion. It’s not a margin of victory that’ll make headlines, but for a team with nine newcomers and a coach coming off his first losing season as a head coach, it’s a great sign.
A dominant performance like this begins early in a game and Ole Miss playing its best from the start.
UCA made more turnovers (12) than field goals (8), only two three-pointers, made four assists and was out-rebounded 18-15. The Bears’ starting five contributed just two field goals and were charged with nine turnovers.
That turnover disparity gave Ole Miss a significant advantage in scoring opportunities. The Rebels attempted 37 field goals compared to just 22 for UCA, a difference of 15 shots despite holding only a three-rebound advantage.
Ole Miss was the exact opposite on the other end of the floor.
The Rebels made more than half of their field goals, recorded 15 assists, scored 20 points in the paint, 12 off turnovers, 11 on fast-breaks, 10 on second chance opportunities and got 14 points from their bench.
Patton Pinkins’ 16 points accounted for 34% of Ole Miss’ first-half scoring, and he missed just one of his seven field goal attempts. Four of his six made baskets came from beyond the arc, where he was 4-of-5. Pinkins even outscored UCA’s entire starting lineup, 16-9.
His biggest impact came late in the first half when Ole Miss extended a 25-15 lead to a 24 point lead. Pinkins scored 11 of the Rebels’ 18 points in that stretch to extend Ole Miss’ lead, including a trio of three-pointers.
That's Pinkin's 4th triple of the night👀 pic.twitter.com/W8Vqmjxk4e
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 7, 2026
And it wasn’t like UCA was being extra-charitable. Ole Miss didn’t take a single trip to the free throw line in the first 20 minutes.
All 47 of the Rebels’ points were earned and 75% of those shots were made off of assists. Adam “Budd” Clark led the way with four assists and no turnovers while Ben Henshall and Ilias Kamardine added three assists each.
Most astonishing, Ole Miss played 13 minutes, 37 seconds of turnover-free basketball.
When a team is playing that clean and that hot from the field, while forcing its opponent to play as sloppy as a pig in mud, any win is going to look great.
It’s even better when all of that can be said without a written word about the second half.
Ole Miss started the second half like it did the first, going on a 10-5 run and extending its lead to as many as 28 points.
It really looked like the Rebels would cruise to a huge win against a team its own coach sang praises about earlier this week.
Then came a stretch that had the same coach acting like his team was fighting to avoid losing an NCAA Tournament game.
The Rebels made four turnovers in 63 seconds, which helped UCA go on a 5-0 run. It wasn’t exactly a comeback run, but against a more talented opponent it could be more than a comeback.
Fortunately, what happened next was exactly what Ole Miss needed. It went on a 10-0 run, extending its lead to 74-41 in only 87 seconds and cruised to a 32-point win.
Budd x Corey on back ✌️ back plays! pic.twitter.com/5YCLKHCipP
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) November 7, 2026
There are tougher opponents ahead and plenty of basketball left before March.
But Friday showed what this group can be when everything clicks, and Beard’s reaction to one sloppy minute showed what he expects even when it doesn’t.
He called Central Arkansas an NCAA Tournament team this week.
Maybe he’ll call Ole Miss one next week.
