Basketball

Dominant Win Over Illinois Proof of Rebels’ Improvement Under Beard

Rebels seek uptick in win column in year two under Chris Beard for first NCAA appearance

Published

11 months ago

October 30, 2024

OXFORD, Miss. — Ole Miss enters a second season under Chris Beard and should contend for their first NCAA Tournament bid since 2019. The Rebels were one of the hottest teams in college basketball last season with 18-3 start and an appearance in the AP Top 25.

Momentum stalled once the calendar flipped to February as Beard’s team won two of its final 11 games to close the season. Much can be made of dominant wins during preseason exhibition games, especially those over quality competition and No. 24 Ole Miss’ 91-74 victory was no different.

While teamwork and unselfish play was seen from the Rebels’ 25 assists, not all was happy go lucky for Beard Sunday night. The SEC is a physical league so having the will to rebound is of much importance but Ole Miss lacked in that area Sunday evening.

“Giving up double-digit offensive rebounds is just unacceptable. It’s a problem,” Beard said. “We’ll have to have some unselfishness, and we obviously did today with 25 assists.”

“Not a lot of basketball games like that, so that shows you where our guys were mentally and where their hearts are sharing the ball. I saw a lot of players turn down an average shot for the hopes of a better shot, so 25 assists is a big part of this game.”

On the offensive end, Ole Miss produced a shooting barrage that Illinois had no answer for. The Rebels shot 49% from the floor and drained 52% from three which would have ranked in the top-10 of any performance last season.

Beard has built one of the oldest rosters in the country with 10 players who classify as upperclassmen. The experience from his veteran squad were only turned over a total of eight times but forced Illinois into 22.

With five players transferring in it takes time for a team to mold together once on the floor playing real opponents. Beard’s group seems to have built chemistry easily this summer and appear ready for the SEC in comparison to last season.

“We had a low turnover game,” Beard said. “I counted eight or nine turnovers out there was all. Some of those are just mistakes that we can clean up, and then we forced a lot of turnovers, so I think there were several games within the game, and one of those was the turnover game.”

Underwood’s Reaction

Illinois coach Brad Underwood might have been a bit tongue in cheek about his defensive situation at Big Ten Media Days earlier this month about his defense. As it appeared on Sunday, his young group still has a bit of work to do before the Illini are considered worthy of a NCAA Tournament bid.

“Defensively right now, a seventh grade middle school team would might hang 100 on us. We stink,” Underwood said at Big Ten Media Days.

Whether folks want to overreact or hold their applause, just know this Ole Miss team might be ready for the bright lights this season after all. Beard has won at every place he’s worked very quickly. This could be the true start of elevating the Rebels’ basketball program into a consistent player at the national level.

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Basketball

Ole Miss takes advantage of turnovers to blow out Delaware State

Rebels score 30 points off 23 turnovers by Hornets and Starr Jacobs has big night in 80-42 win over Hornets

Published

10 months ago

November 14, 2024

All Hotty Toddy News

DOVER, Del. — Ole Miss reached the 80-point mark for the second consecutive game, stomping Delaware State, 80-42, at Memorial Hall Gym on Thursday evening.

The Rebels (2-1, 0-0 SEC) turned defense into offense all night, taking advantage of 23 turnovers by the Hornets (1-3, 0-0 MEAC), and scoring 30 points off them. On the other side, Ole Miss played its cleanest game of the season, giving up only six turnovers. It’s the fewest by the Rebels since last season when they had the same amount in the win against Georgia on Jan. 21, 2024.

Four Rebels reached double-digit scoring, with Starr Jacobs having her best performance as a Rebel. She led the team with 18 points, six rebounds and a pair of assists.

Kennedy Todd-Williams also had an impressive all-around performance against Delaware State. She scored 13 points on a trio of three-pointers, her personal best in a Rebel jersey. The senior hauled in a team-leading nine rebounds, dished out five assists and punished the Hornets defensively with two blocks and a steal.

KK Deans had a season-high seven assists against the Hornets, the most by any Rebel in a single game so far this year. In her closest shot at a homecoming game, Madison Scott shined once again with 13 points, five rebounds and four assists.

With a hot start coming from Sira Thienou, the Rebels and Hornets kept pace with one another in the opening frame. The freshman tied her career-high of six points in just 10 minutes, guiding the Rebels to a 13-9 lead at the end of the first.

An early jumper from Thienou secured her career-high as the Rebels and Hornets continued to trade blows early in the second. Thienou ended the game with 13 points on an efficient 5-for-7 shooting.

After regrouping at the media timeout, Ole Miss came out blazing with a 12-2 run sparked by three jumpers from Scott and 12 turnovers by the hosts. Todd-Williams capped off the half with her second three-pointer of the day, giving the Rebels a 37-21 lead entering the break.

Shooting 50% from the arc after a trio of threes from three different Rebels, Ole Miss continued to extend their lead. The Rebels capitalized at the free throw line, as Christeen Iwuala and Jacobs combined for four in the final two and a half minutes to maintain Ole Miss’ double-digit advantage, 58-32.

With victory in sight, Jacobs showed her veteran status by draining four jumpers right out of the break. The Rebels built up their lead by as many as 40 in the final quarter to go on to defeat the Hornets, 80-42.

The Rebels are back at the SJB Pavilion for the annual Kids Day game against SWAC opponent, Jackson State on Monday. Tipoff is set for 11 a.m. CT and will be broadcast on SEC Network+.

Information from Ole Miss Sports is included in this story

Basketball

Beard adds two top recruits to Ole Miss’ basketball roster

Rebels add couple of recruits, including son of current assistant coach to roster for next season

Published

10 months ago

November 13, 2024

All Hotty Toddy News

OXFORD, Miss. — Chris Beard and staff continued to build for the future of Ole Miss, adding two top recruits on Wednesday’s National Signing Day in forward Tylis Jordan and guard Patton Pinkins.

Jordan is a consensus top-100 recruit for the class of 2025, owning a national ranking as high as No. 27 in the country by On3 and No. 28 by Rivals. Listed as a power forward, the 6-9 Louisville, Ga., native is an incredibly skilled big man who can easily play with the ball in his hands.

He has the ability to stretch the floor with his shooting and is able to knock down threes. One of the top-ranked players in his class in the always-talented state of Georgia, Jordan averaged a double-double last season at Shiloh as a junior with 21.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, and is currently playing his senior season at Wheeler.

Another top-100 recruit, Pinkins is ranked as high as No. 74 in his class nationally by ESPN and No. 78 by Rivals. A 6-5 shooting guard from Wolfforth, Texas, he currently plays at Frenship High School, where he’s described as an efficient player with a shooting percentage of over 60 percent from the field and over 40 percent from three.

Pinkins, the son of current Ole Miss assistant coach Al Pinkins, posses a high basketball IQ with strong passing ability. His ability as an on-ball defender pairs well with his prowess at scoring the basketball at all three levels.

Their two commitments in the 2025 class gives Beard and the Rebels a top-25 class across all major recruiting services, ranking No. 12 in the nation by Rivals, No. 16 by On3, and No. 25 by 247Sports.

Information Ole Miss Sports is included in this story.