COLUMN: It wasn’t how Chris Beard drew it up but Ole Miss’ win over Missouri was the needed tonic

Hang with me here, if you will, for just a minute or three.

Forget for a moment that Missouri isn’t a very good SEC basketball team.

Yes, their track record was a factor in the inevitable outcome, but the Ole Miss-Missouri hoops contest in The Pavilion Saturday night was about one major thing.

It was getting this Rebel team back on the winning track after a three-game losing skid against three tough opponents, two of which – until just recently a very hot team in South Carolina and a Kentucky team that was full strength for the first time in forever – were on the road.

It was about the Ole Miss getting its stinger back as a team and some individuals regaining the form that had gotten them 18 wins in their first 21 tries.

It was about getting one step closer to their ultimate goal – a spot in the NCAA Tournament quickly approaching.

Coach Chris Beard’s first team is now 19-6 overall and 6-6 in the SEC with six conference games and the March 13-17 SEC Tournament in Nashville remaining.

A cursory look at the schedule shows three games at home and three on the road to round out the regular season. None of them are bargains with Mississippi State in Starkville on Wednesday next, South Carolina in Oxford on February 24 and Alabama in Oxford on February 28 before moving into the basketball magical month of March with Missouri in Columbia in two weeks, Georgia in Athens on March 5 and Texas A&M in Oxford on March 9.

There are obviously no gimmes on the slate, but to be assured of getting comfortably in the ‘Big Dance’ with no selection Sunday palm sweating and writhing in our chairs, it’s our thinking Ole Miss will need to win three more regular season games and have a decent showing in the SEC’s big event in Music City.

The Rebs have proven to be more than capable of accomplishing those objectives, but they must play at a higher level than they did against Missouri because the opposition is simply better from this point on.

As the old saying goes, though, a win is a win is a win and Ole Miss will take it.

“Not much went our way for a long time, but then we found a way to win,” said Beard in a ‘thank goodness’ moment of reflection. “When we got down in the second half, we became more aggressive on both ends of the court. We made some good plays on defense and it led to better offense.

“Then we made pressure free throws down the stretch.”

The good parts were getting point guard Jaylen ‘JuJu’ Murray back on track somewhat after having a couple of below average showings with 14 points, Matthew Murrell being Matthew Murrell with 26 points, Allen Flanigan filling up the stat sheet with 16 points/10rebounds/2 blocks/2 steals/4 assists, TJ Caldwell coming off the bench to hit key free throws at the end, and Jaemyn Brakefield doing his best impression of Jaemyn Brakefield by coming up with a quiet 16 points.

It took all that to dispatch a stubborn Missouri team that despite being winless in the conference put up a real fight.

The part that still leaves one baffled is the lack of inside presence in scoring and rebounding despite have two 7-footers to call on. They will swat a shot here and there, but their production has to pick up – if that is possible this late in the season – for the Rebels to advance comfortably into the NCAAs.

All-in-all, however, a win was the tonic needed to keep their goals alive and, for now, that’s all that matters.

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