By Bert Leeson

OXFORD, Miss. – Ole Miss men’s basketball matched the best start in program history, marching undefeated through its non-conference schedule to start SEC play at 13-0 overall in Year 1 under head coach Chris Beard.

At 13-0, the 2023-24 Rebels tied the 2007-08 team for the best start in school history, as well as the longest overall win streak.

“When I think of those kinds of things, I just think of the players,” Beard said. “The players deserve all the credit—Matt, Brake, TJ, Rob and those guys who chose to come back and trusted us in the coaching change. If we’re going to do the things we want to get done here, why we came to Oxford, there’s going to be a lot of records that need to be approached and broken over the years and over the next months and weeks.”

No. 22 Ole Miss is one of three remaining unbeaten teams in the country alongside No. 3 Houston and No. 19 James Madison, each sitting at 13-0 as well.

Ole Miss’ non-conference run included three wins over Power 5 teams, as well as a victory over No. 15 Memphis.

“I think our non-conference schedule proved a lot. To me it proved that we can play,” Beard said. “I don’t think our schedule has gotten the respect that it should. We’re one of very few BCS teams who played two true road games. We played opponents from the Big 12, ACC, Pac-12, NCAA Tournament teams from last year, Top 25 teams. The schedule challenged us in a lot of ways. And I think for the most part we’ve answered the call. To have 13 wins going into SEC play doesn’t mean anything on Saturday when the ball goes up, but just to take a quick second to reflect, a lot of work wen into these wins in November and December, so I think the players deserve all the credit.”

Beard and Co. will begin SEC play on the road Saturday at No. 5 Tennessee.

The Rebels open their home SEC slate next Wednesday, January 10, against Florida. Single-game tickets are available now at OleMissTix.com.

COURTESY OLE MISS ATHLETIC COMMUNICATIONS