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‘Chris Beard has elevated everything’: Bruce Pearl praises Ole Miss basketball culture shift

Ben Garrettby: Ben Garrett02/02/25SpiritBen
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Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl (Photo credit: USA Today Images)

Chris Beard has raised the bar for Ole Miss basketball in his second season.

The Rebels are in prime position to secure just their 10th all-time NCAA Tournament berth. They’re ranked in the Top 25 and have made all kinds of history in the process, including their first-ever Top 5 road win and the best NET ranking in program history.

Ole Miss fought a gritty fight in a losing effort against top-ranked Auburn on Saturday. Tiger head coach Bruce Pearl took notice. He sees clear what Beard is building.

“I know he’s disappointed,” Pearl said. “I’m sure he’s disappointed. He expected to win this game. I guarantee you he did. He didn’t care where we were ranked. 

“He’s going to be in the upper division of this league every year.”

RELATED: Everything Chris Beard said after No. 23 Ole Miss came up short against top-ranked Auburn

Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard (Photo credit: USA Today Images)

Significant Year 2 improvement has become commonplace for Beard-coached teams. 

Angelo State jumped from 19 wins to 28 and reached the round of 16 in Division II. Texas Tech was nine wins better and made the Elite Eight. Texas claimed wins over No. 2 Gonzaga and No. 7 Creighton and climbed as high as No. 2 in his second season.

Ole Miss already has more Quad 1 wins than last season, when the Rebels won 20 for the first time in five years. Their style of play can keep pace with anyone. The Rebels are third in the nation in turnover margin and forced more Auburn mistakes than they gave up.

Sure, they’ve lost four of their last five. But the Rebels don’t appear to be going anywhere. If anything, they’re ascending, even when falling short. Ole Miss had the third-largest crowd in Pavilion history on Saturday.  

The culture shift Beard has worked tirelessly to bring has arrived.

“My wife does not travel on the road with the team,” Pearl said. “It’s too much. But she’s come to Oxford twice. She just loves the downtown setting. Last night we went out to dinner and we could just feel the fun and the joy and the anticipation. I enjoyed visiting with Ole Miss fans in the sense that they were excited about their team’s opportunity, they knew they had a chance to win, but they also recognized we’re a good team. It was so good to feel respected, but ‘We’re going to get you tomorrow, coach.’ It’s really good, really healthy. 

“The SEC is different. Chris Beard has raised the bar. Look at his staff; he’s got one of the best staffs in college basketball, period. Those guys with him are unbelievable, and the guys they’re recruiting, look, those are guys I’m recruiting and then some. There were a bunch of guys on that team we tried to get. 

“Chris Beard has elevated everything.”

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