Ole Miss Coach Chris Beard Shares Thoughts On BYU Basketball
Nov 27, 2024, 12:48 PM
BYU basketball will face No. 23 Ole Miss led by second year head coach Chris Beard. (Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin Ford/Getty Images)
BYU basketball will square off against No. 23 Ole Miss on Thanksgiving Day in San Diego.
The matchup is part of the Rady Children’s Invitational.
THIS WEEK pic.twitter.com/MHnBD0keic
— BYU Men's Basketball (@BYUMBB) November 25, 2024
It’s a step up in competition for BYU and Ole Miss, who have played light non-conference schedules to this point of the season.
In addition to being an intriguing Big 12/SEC matchup, BYU/Ole Miss is a strong head coach battle.
First-year headman Kevin Young leads BYU, while Chris Beard guides the Ole Miss Rebels in his second year in Oxford.
Beard, who reached the National Championship Game during his time at Texas Tech and has coached in five NCAA Tournaments during eight previous seasons as a head coach, praised what he sees from BYU.
“I’ve been super impressed [with BYU] in our preparation dating back to this summer when we knew we’d have an opportunity to play BYU. I think they’re well-coached. Their team definitely has an identity on offense,” Beard said. “They have a dynamic point guard, actually two dynamic point guards. They’ve got a great combination of inside play and guard play.
“Their coaching staff does a great job of setting them up with great spacing on offense, so it will be a real challenge for our defense to guard on all three levels. They also do a great job pushing the tempo and playing in the open floor.
“Defensively, because of the size and versatility on their roster, I know they can put a lineup out there where everybody’s 6’6″ or above. They can switch, and they can change up their ball screen tactics.”
Thursday will be only the second meeting ever between BYU and Ole Miss on the hardwood. The first meeting was in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. So Beard explained what his team should expect against BYU.
“I described it this way to our players, we’re going to be in a lot of games like this this year against really talented teams in the SEC. I put BYU in that same category.”
BYU connection on the Ole Miss basketball staff
There’s a connection to BYU on Chris Beard’s Ole Miss staff.
The Ole Miss strength and conditioning coach is a former BYU graduate. John Reilly was a men’s track and field athlete at BYU from 2010 to 2011.
Reilly’s Ole Miss bio says he was a volunteer assistant strength coach at BYU in 2011.
BYU vs. Ole Miss: How To Watch, Listen
Rady Children’s Invitational
Date: Thursday, November 28, 2024
Location: LionTree Arena (San Diego, California)
Tip-Off: 3:30 p.m. (MST)
TV: FS1
Radio: KSL NewsRadio (102.7 FM, 1160 AM)
Mitch Harper is a BYU Insider for sports.ksl.com and hosts the Cougar Tracks Podcast (SUBSCRIBE) and Cougar Sports Saturday (12–3 p.m.) on KSL Newsradio. Follow Mitch’s coverage of BYU in the Big 12 Conference on X: @Mitch_Harper.
