Deep in the bows of Bridgestone Arena, Ole Miss Head Coach Chris Beard met with local media to discuss the Rebels’ new season as they prepare to open the 2024 SEC Tournament on Thursday night against Texas A&M. Coach Beard mentioned turning up the intensity following the embarrassing loss to the Aggies on Saturday in Oxford.

Ole Miss has been a weird team this season. It started with a stretch of undefeated basketball and then suffered a string of bad losses that knocked the Rebels out of the NCAA Tournament.

As the Rebels took the court for practice on Wednesday afternoon at Bridgestone Arena, the saying ” four games in four days” was echoed by the entire program as the Rebels turned up the intensity, preparing to shock the world by taking the Southeastern Conference Tournament.

Coach Chris Beard is no stranger to playing on the big stage with the bright lights. He loves to embrace playing as an underdog, as his teams are usually built for March. Thursday night will be no different as the Rebels try to avenge the embarrassing loss on Saturday to the Texas A&M Aggies. For Coach Chris Beard and his Ole Miss Rebels, the loss to Texas A&M was personal as it was so bad that Coach Chris Beard offered to work with Keith Carter and the athletic department to give Ole Miss fans in attendance a full refund on tickets bought for Saturday’s game.

As the practice continued on Wednesday afternoon, Ole Miss dipped into a mantra that the Rebels will be hard to beat if they tap into on Thursday night. For Chris Beard and his Rebels, it’s Ole Miss against the world; the Rebels know they’re underdogs. However, playing as underdogs with their backs against the wall is precisely where Coach Beards wants his Rebels because of the intensity it brings to each possession. Adding to the excitement of the Southeastern Conference trip for the Rebels, the University Of Mississippi announced that Chris Beard had agreed to a contract extension, keeping him in Oxford as the Ole Miss Basketball Coach until 2029-2030.

With the contract extension comes a certain level of peace for the Ole Miss Basketball program, which is important for the program’s continued growth in the right direction.

Ole Miss will open their Southeastern Conference Tournament journey on Thursday night with a tip-off slated for 6:00 and a national television audience on the SEC Network. A win over the Aggies, and the Rebels will move on to face Kentucky during the same slot on Friday night.