Ole Miss men’s basketball is back in action Tuesday night when it hosts Southeastern Louisiana.
The Rebels are off to a 2-0 start this season and have scored 90 or more points in back-to-back games, the first time they’ve started like that since 2012-13. Ole Miss has never started a season with three-straight games with 90 points scored or more.
The most recent win came against a Central Arkansas team that Ole Miss coach Chris Beard believes will be in this season’s NCAA Tournament. The Rebels held UCA to just 60 points, forced 18 turnovers, blocked five shots and allowed the Bears to make only 19 field goals.
It was the kind of dominant effort Ole Miss fans want to see in these early-season games against mid-majors. They’ll want to see it again on Tuesday night inside SJB Pavilion.
On Monday, Beard gave a quick preview of the Rebels’ matchup with SE Louisiana and talked about the way his team has played in the first two games of the season. Here’s what he had to say:
On Ole Miss scoring more than 90 points in each of its first two games…
Chris Beard: Yeah, I think low-turnover games in our first two games of the season. That’s always going to relate to more shots on goal and potentially more scoring. I think one of the best things we’ve got going early, and it is early, is kind of some balanced scoring because we do have a vision for this team where we’ll need four or five guys every night that can get to double-digit scoring.
On recording more than 20 assists in each game…
Beard: Yeah, it always makes you feel good as a coach. It’s kind of the design. When the ball moves and when we share the ball, when we have ball movement, player movement, when we get assisted baskets, it just feels good because we’re playing the right way. So that’s been another positive early in the season.
On holding Central Arkansas to 60 points…
Beard: Yeah, really proud of that. I think it’s kind of a game that I’ll remember for a while. I get on to the next game pretty quick mentally, but I had great respect for Central Arkansas. Nine returning players, picked to win their conference, three or four guys that, no doubt about it, could play at the SEC level. So I thought our guys were dialed in. We had a game plan. We had time to prepare. Give the players credit. We understood it was going to be a tough game. Central Arkansas missed some shots they normally make. One of their best players played limited minutes because of foul trouble. So I think they’re a good team. I predict that they’ll be in the NCAA Tournament.
On scouting Southeastern Louisiana…
Beard: Yeah, another veteran team. Here we go again. College basketball, no freshmen on their team. I think the average age is 21, 22 years old. A lot of respect for this coach. They have an identity. A lot of teams will come in here, and you kind of wonder what they’re about. No question, this team’s about defensive ball pressure, physical play. They play a three-guard lineup at times, which is always challenging. It’s kind of like how our old Little Rock teams used to play. And keep an eye on this one: two really good bigs. One actually started his career in the Big 12 at Baylor. These guys are what I describe as driving bigs, guys that can really drive the basketball facing the basket. So it’ll be another test for us. Third game of the season, we’ll have to play well.
