'Thankful' Chris Beard reflects on Ole Miss Rebels' March Madness run after Sweet 16 loss
03/29/2025 12:19 AM
Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels saw their season come to an end after losing to the Michigan State Spartans in the Sweet 16 of the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
It was a big run for the 6-seed Rebels, making their first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2001. It’s also the second overall in program history, emphasizing how important it was for Beard’s squad to get this far in the tournament.
Beard reflected on what the team accomplished after the game. He is thankful that his players raised expectations in the locker room throughout the season, which provides hope for what will come next season.
“Every season ends except for one with the feelings we have right now. Every year you dread that walk to the locker room. Not this year. I am just thankful. I am thankful they raised expectations. No-one in the country expected us to make the Sweet Sixteen. We played some great basketball (down the stretch),” Beard said.
“What these guys did is raised expectations for this program. (long pause) I’ve been blessed to coach a lot of guys but these guys are special.”
How Chris Beard, Ole Miss played against Michigan State
It was an inspiring run for Chris Beard and the Ole Miss Rebels. Even though it ended in heartbreaking fashion, they can at least say they put up a strong fight against the Michigan State Spartans.
Ole Miss sees their season come to a close with a 24-12 overall record, having gone 10-8 in SEC Play. They averaged 77.2 points on 44.5% shooting from the field and 34.8% from beyond the arc. As a result, they got past opponents by a margin of 5.5 points per game.
Sean Pedulla led the with numbers of 15.4 points, 3.8 assists and 3.5 rebounds. He had shooting splits of 44.1% overall and 39.2% from downtown. Jaemyn Brakefield came next with 11.1 points and 4.3 rebounds, Malik Dia put up 10.8 points and 5.7 rebounds, while Matthew Murrell provided 10.8 points and 3.5 rebounds.
With a big season under their belts, they will look to carry that momentum into the offseason and improve for the 2025-26 campaign.
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