Ole Miss kept its season alive for one more day after defeating Georgia 76-72 in the second round of the SEC Tournament on Thursday.
After the game, and before a trip to Hall’s Steakhouse, Rebels’ coach Chris Beard spoke to reporters about the game and his team’s mentality as it faces a daunting challenge to get into the NCAA Tournament. Here’s what he said:
Opening Statement…
We wish Georgia the best of luck in the NCAA Tournament next week. They’re a quality opponent and Mike does a great job every year. This was a great win for our program. Obviously we’re in survive-and-advance mode right now, so we live to see another day.
When you look at the basketball teams we’ve faced — Texas yesterday and Georgia today — those are two of the best offenses in college basketball. I thought we played about three and a half halves of the best defense we’ve played all year. It really started yesterday with our defensive effort, and today against Georgia, one of the highest-scoring offenses in the country, I thought our guys were dialed in.
Our first-half defense was about as good as it could be. In the second half, like all good teams do, we knew Georgia was going to get aggressive. Some of our misfortune during that stretch was self-inflicted. But I want to recognize that our guys did a really good job in the last five or six minutes of the game. Georgia had a lot of fouls to give at that point, so their defense was extremely aggressive. I thought for the most part we handled the ball well in the final few minutes. Again, we wish Georgia the best. I’m really proud of our guys. We set this up as a four-team tournament. We won the first one, so we’ll get back, recover as best we can, and tomorrow we’ll start the next four-team tournament.
On Rebels finishing strong…
Some of that stretch was self-inflicted, but give a lot of credit to Georgia. They got super aggressive and the press heated us up a little bit. But our guys showed poise. We’re just in the mode right now of trying to extend our season. Fortunately — or unfortunately — we’ve been in a lot of games like that this season. I think our past experience helped us. Our coaching staff did a good job weathering the storm, and we had contributions from different players. Klafke made some plays, Keza finished the game. It was really a team effort.
Certified bucket getter ⚠️🪣#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/qFYm5ZnGUb
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 13, 2026
On Perry’s development…
Travis Perry is a sophomore in college basketball. He had a role last year at his previous school, and the idea at Ole Miss was for him to have a bigger role. Travis isn’t a soft player. He’s a competitor. But in basketball there are possessions where you have to initiate contact and play with strength. We’ve encouraged him from day one to embrace that. Tonight’s six rebounds speaks for itself. He took a big pop on that flagrant as well. He’s got that edge in him. We’re just trying to pull it out of him.
On knowing what Ole Miss needs to get to the NCAA Tournament…
Our big thing is just tapping into NCAA Tournament experience. We’re not doing anything different. This is survive-and-advance. Starting next week, 68 teams will be in the same situation. That’s the mode we’re in right now. We’re not really talking about winning the whole tournament to get a bid. We’re just trying to win the next game on the schedule. But we understand the moment.
On Rebels’ ability to make a tournament run…
My biggest belief about this team is that these guys have never quit. People who haven’t seen us play all season are starting to see that now in Nashville. Yesterday against Texas, today against Georgia — you see it. It’s not always pretty and we’re not perfect, but our guys don’t quit. That’s what I’ll always remember about this group.
Slow motion > no motion 💨#HottyToddy x #Culture pic.twitter.com/jUNd6m8wYQ
— Ole Miss Men’s Basketball (@OleMissMBB) March 13, 2026
On team’s routine…
We’re switching it up a little bit. Normally we go back to the hotel for dinner, but tonight we’re going to Hall’s Steakhouse. James used to live in Charleston and the Hall brothers are friends of mine. It’s one of the best restaurants in the country. We told the guys if we got it done tonight we’d go to Hall’s. When Kezza was at the line for that last free throw, I pulled him aside and said, ‘Look, big shot here. I really want that shrimp cocktail in about 45 minutes.’ So shout-out to Hall’s for helping us get the win — and shout-out to Kezz for making the biggest free throw of the season.
On decision not to call a timeout during Georgia’s 20-2 run…
From a coaching standpoint, I felt like I needed those timeouts late in the game because Georgia has one of the best presses in college basketball. It also came down to trust. Were we having a complete meltdown or just making a couple individual mistakes? I trust Ilias 100 percent. There’s nobody I’d rather have the ball in their hands. So I didn’t feel like he needed me to call a timeout. Those decisions are tough as a coach, but tonight it worked out. My focus was having timeouts available in the last four minutes because I know what Georgia can do defensively.
