As the final seconds ticked off the clock on another win at home, the Ole Miss faithful in attendance took a second to celebrate the moment that the Rebels remained undefeated at home in year one of the Chris Beard era. When Coach Beard took over, he told the Ole Miss Basketball faithful they could expect a culture change, making the Pavilion one of the most challenging environments in basketball. Coach Beard wanted Ole Miss fans to buy into creating a championship-caliber program that starts at home.

Ole Miss Basketball fans have been starved for so long to have a program they can rally around in the winter months that makes them proud to be an Ole Miss Rebel. For years, Ole Miss has been right there. When playing in the old Tad Pad, the Rebels created an environment where Southeastern Conference opponents were terrified to play there on a random Tuesday night in the middle of January.

In the short history of the Pavilion, Ole Miss Basketball has not delivered the product that Ole Miss fans would be proud of on any given night. However, as Coach Beard quietly built his roster for 2023-2024, the excitement crescendoed into the fever that has helped the team change the culture of Ole Miss Basketball in three short months.

For the first time in recent memory, Ole Miss fans take to the sidewalks before an Ole Miss Basketball game, awaiting the time to take over their home to defend the Pavilion from visiting adversaries. On New Year’s Eve, Ole Miss welcomed Bryant to the Pavilion for the final non-conference game; the Rebel fans were lined up on the sidewalks an hour and a half before tip-off. What makes that so impressive is that Ole Miss fans did that without the help from Club Reb. Students were not on campus at the time. Yet, a near-capacity crowd was in attendance to cheer on the Rebels in a blowout win over Bryant.

As Southeastern Conference play started with Florida and Vanderbilt, nearly 16,000 fans filled the stands to cheer on the Rebels to victory. Last season, there were games where Ole Miss struggled to get 5,000 in attendance. However, Coach Chris Beard has turned around Ole Miss Basketball and will continue to do so for as long as he is the Head Coach in Oxford, giving the Rebel fans something to be excited about on the hardwood.