LOOK: An ‘historic’ trip to Temple ‘paid dividends’ for Ole Miss in blowout of NC State
Chris Beard has learned a lot about his first Ole Miss team in less than a week’s time.
The Rebels made their first road trip, to Temple, on Saturday. Beard said he had a “good cheesecake” and visited the Rocky statue while in Philadelphia, but, more importantly, Ole Miss came away with a one-point win.
The Rebels have won three of their first six games by three points or less.
“Temple, obviously first road game of the season,” Beard said. “Didn’t play our best basketball, but we did have some poise (and) some individual moments in that game. We learned a lot about our team. Anytime you can take your team away, play on the road, you learn a lot about yourself. A lot of valuable tape in that game.
“We had probably four chances in that game to blow it open and get control over the game and we didn’t do that. So, we had a learning curve there. I think that probably paid some dividends tonight.”
‘Tonight’ being Tuesday and the Rebels’ 72-52 win over NC State in the SEC/ACC Challenge.
Ole Miss, which received votes in the most recent batch of Top 25 polls, stayed perfect (6-0) on the season in a game the Rebels never trailed. Next up is Memphis on Saturday at 1 p.m. CT on ESPN2.
“We have the game under control and we increase the lead a little bit tonight,” Beard continued. “Had some spurts, so that’s a sign of maturity.
“But the first road game, it’s always good to win on the road in college basketball. We learned a lot about our team that night. It was kind of an historic basketball trip, too.”
Here’s another look at Ole Miss’ win over NC State, with photos provided by Ole Miss Athletics.
