‘Sense of Pride For Ole Miss’: Chris Beard Reveals Reason For Saturday Substitutions

The No. 19 Ole Miss Rebels did not play their best brand of basketball on Saturday in an 81-71 loss to the No. 22 Mississippi State Bulldogs in Oxford, and head coach Chris Beard was using just about everything he could to find a spark for his team.

The Rebels utilized a seemingly-new substitution strategy against the Bulldogs, bringing in some young pieces like John Bol, Eduardo Klafke and Robert Cowherd on Saturday. Beard stated after the game that this was intentional as his team looked for some energy in its losing effort.

“I think some of the substitutions tonight were literally to get people out there who were playing with a sense of pride for Ole Miss,” Beard said. “Understood a lot of people paid real money to come to this game today.

“Again, we’re not going to make every shot. You’re not going to win every game, but you absolutely can control what you can control, and that’s effort, body language, competitiveness. We were lacking in a lot of those things.”

Beard was overall pleased with what he saw from his freshmen and sophomores against Mississippi State, even if there were some miscues on the floor during their minutes.

“I thought John Bol gave us great minutes,” Beard said. “Klafke’s always an energy guy, and Rob Cowherd, Rob’s been battling injuries really his whole career. This year, no different. It was great to see Rob out there contributing today. He could be a big part of what we’re trying to do down the stretch.”

It seemed this weekend (and Beard admitted as much) that Mississippi State was the more aggressive and motivated team against Ole Miss. The Bulldogs are seeking wins down the stretch to secure a berth in the NCAA Tournament, a spot that the Rebels have already likely landed.

Still, that doesn’t mean that Ole Miss should have shown up flat against its in-state rival.

“I think that’s a fair statement. It’s hard for me as a coach to say that, but it’s exactly what I told the guys after the game,” Beard said. “Victory is going to favor the team that’s more aggressive.”

The Rebels are off in midweek action this week before traveling to take on Vanderbilt on Saturday in Nashville. Tip-off is set for 2:30 p.m. CT on SEC Network.