Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard promised to deliver a team that would defend when he was introduced as Kermit Davis’ successor back in March.
Improbably, he’s lifted the Rebels back into the polls for the first time in five seasons and into NCAA Tournament contention without yet delivering on that promise.
The 82-59 thrashing Ole Miss took from Auburn on Saturday night was among the worst defensive performances Beard has ever overseen, with the No. 11 Tigers (16-2, 5-0 SEC) scoring 1.24 points per possession. Beard had coached 227 games at a Power Five institution before No. 21 Ole Miss (15-3, 2-3) took the court at Neville Arena against the Tigers. On a points-per-possession basis, he has only taken charge of six worse defensive showings.
There was never a top-25 feel to the one-sided bout. After scoring 46 first-half points, the Tigers spent the game’s final 20 minutes playing with their food.
“We didn’t take care of our end of the bargain to make it a top-25 type of game,” Beard said afterward. “But I would give Auburn the credit for that.”
The Tigers’ offense was, indeed, overwhelming.
No Auburn player scored more than 13 points – mostly because there were so many options to spread the ball to. Johni Broome and Jaylin Williams combined for 26. Dylan Cardwell added 12. Those players together missed only seven of their 22 field-goal attempts.
Auburn shot 58% as a team and 67% in the first half to knock the Rebels out on their feet. The Tigers made eight of their 18 3-pointers.
“Really just the play-calls,” Auburn coach Bruce Pearl said. “We weren’t really trying to scout to go into the paint, but a lot of guys just kept helping up. And we realized that if our guards would drive, the bigs would help up, and with the backside wide open, no one was crashing down. So that’s pretty much it. The coaches had it really well-scouted.”
AUBURN: Ole Miss basketball live score updates vs. Auburn: Rebels take on Tigers in SEC play
Ten of Auburn’s 23 missed shots resulted in offensive rebounds, contributing to a troubling trend for the Rebels, who can’t seem to keep their opponents off the defensive glass even on their good days.
It didn’t help that Ole Miss gave the ball away a season-high 17 times, leading to several easy Auburn looks and 22 points off turnovers.
Those are the statistics that made the mess. Now, the question becomes, what does the mess mean for the Rebels moving forward?
Maybe this was simply an off night for Ole Miss. Maybe the Rebels will burn the tape and go the rest of the season without a similarly disastrous defensive showing. Maybe this is the turning point where the Rebels finally start to embody the defensive principles that have made Beard’s teams special in the past.
These Rebels’ offensive capabilities, if fused with a dominant defensive team like Beard has built in the past, would construct something truly special.
But there is more than one ugly defensive data point on this chart. The Rebels were similarly terrible in their SEC opener at Tennessee, where they allowed 1.3 points per possession. In a loss to an LSU team on the outside looking in on the NCAA Tournament field, Ole Miss allowed 1.14 points per possession. Defending on the road has been an issue.
To get where the Rebels want to go – March Madness and the top half of the SEC, to be specific – those numbers have to come down.
And there’s reason to believe they will. Road games at Auburn and Tennessee are probably the two most difficult on Ole Miss’ schedule this season. With a roster full of new pieces learning a new system, it would make sense that Beard’s defense would get better as the season goes along.
For now, it’s still fair to say Saturday’s defensive showing by Ole Miss was out of character. The Rebels can’t allow it to become the norm.
David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.
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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Ole Miss’ defensive showing vs Auburn was among Chris Beard’s worst
