Year one of the Chris Beard era is about over as the Rebels prepare for the season’s final month, and the folks in Oxford are just as excited about next season as they were when Coach Beard took over as Head Coach of the Ole Miss Basketball program. Despite being on the bubble, according to Joe Lunardi of ESPN.com, Ole Miss Basketball fans are still packing the Pavillion for a chance to cheer on their Rebels against the foes of the Southeastern Conference in hopes of creating a better future for Rebels Basketball for generations to come.

When Chris Beard took over as Head Coach of the Ole Miss Rebels, he set out to change the culture of Ole Miss Basketball by bringing in the winning nature that develops champions. Learning under the legendary Head Coach, the late Bob Knight, Coach Chris Beard understands that getting the most out of your program by doing what others don’t is the key to changing a program into winners on and off the court.

Tuesday night saw more of the same for Ole Miss, as the Rebels fell short of another win to deliver the crushing blow on the 2023-2024 season. With one game remaining before the Southeastern Conference Tournament in Nashville, Tennessee, the Ole Miss Rebels will once again miss the NCAA Tournament unless the Rebels can pull off a March Madness miracle and win the Southeastern Conference Tournament to earn the automatic bid from the Southeastern Conference.

However, as crappy as it is to miss the NCAA Tournament, the future of Ole Miss Basketball has not looked this promising in years. With a winnable home game remaining, the Rebels currently sit at 14-3 when playing in Oxford, making the Pavillion one of the most challenging places to play in the Southeastern Conference. There were several sellouts, including a wild environment in late December for a game against Bryant University, where the lines formed around the arena hours before tip-off. On the surface, Ole Miss’s change in year one of the Chris Beard era is notable and exciting for basketball fans of the Southeastern Conference.

Ole Miss struggled on the road this season. Finishing 4-7 away from Oxford has been the Rebels’ kryptonite. However, Ole Miss is one of many in the Southeastern Conference who struggled on the road once Southeastern Conference play started in early January.

The good news is that the Rebels are 2-0 in neutral site games this season.

Overall, the 2023-2024 season has been one of ups and downs, but this team’s success is evident. There’s still time to reach the NCAA Tournament; crazier things happened in March. Yet, no matter what, the Rebels will play postseason basketball with a few extra practices to continue to build an exciting future for Ole Miss Basketball.

Ole Miss will return home to face Texas A&M on Saturday afternoon before taking off to Nashville, Tennessee, for the 2024 Southeastern Conference Tournament.