An abysmal performance overall by the Ole Miss men’s basketball team led to a blowout loss at home on senior day.
The Rebels (20-10, 8-10 SEC) were dominated by the Aggies (18-13, 9-9 SEC) in all phases of Saturday afternoon’s contest, setting up an 86-60 loss to close out the regular season. The game was so bad for Ole Miss that first-year head coach Chris Beard called for fans who purchased tickets to be reimbursed for the product displayed on the court in his postgame presser.
“I would appreciate it if you guys would get the message out,” Beard told the media. “We just want to apologize to everybody. I’ll check with Keith (Carter) and see what the rules are on this, but for anybody who paid money to come see this game today, I’d like you to get reimbursed.”
Ole Miss opened the game on a major offensive lull. The team did not score a bucket and turned the ball over five times in four and a half minutes. Texas A&M went on a 14-0 run in that span. Matthew Murrell hit a triple to get the Rebels on the board.
Texas A&M kept pressing on the gas, though. A trio of triples by a red-hot Manny Obaseki gave the Aggies a 23-5 advantage with 13:15 left in the half. Just when it appeared that the game was out of reach, Ole Miss capitalized on a 4:30 span in which the Aggies did not connect on a field goal attempt and cut the deficit to as few as six.
The Rebels, trailing 28-22 with 6:15 left in the half, were back in the game. But it did not take long for the Aggies to get going again. A pair of immediate unanswered triples from Texas A&M guards Tyrese Radford and Wade Taylor IV brought the Rebels back to square one. The Aggies closed out stronger and led 42-29 at the intermission.
It did not get any better for Ole Miss after the break. At the 15:31 minute mark, Texas A&M took a 20-point lead — its largest of the afternoon, courtesy of Taylor heating up from behind the arc. The Aggies had posted a large advantage over Mississippi State just three days prior, but the Bulldogs were able to cut it to one possession and get right back into the game — though they ultimately lost.
A triple from Rebel guard Jaylen Murray set the spiral in motion, cutting the deficit to 17, but Texas A&M, a team on the NCAA Tournament bubble, had a different objective in its opponent’s arena. The Aggies took a 63-42 lead with 12:49 left in the game and never looked back.
Texas A&M led by as many as 33 points in the uncompetitive SEC showdown, which, for Ole Miss, inconveniently aired nationally on CBS. Down 86-53 with 2:42 in the contest, the Rebels closed out on a 7-0 run. With it being senior day, Ole Miss players who seldom took the floor this season saw rare appearances. In the final offensive stint for the Rebels, Jackson Prep alum Cam Brent scored one point and Cole McGrath scored three points to close out their final year with the program.
It was a dominant showing in all phases for Texas A&M. The Aggies shot 50% from the floor, including an impressive 50% from behind the arc. Meanwhile, Ole Miss was 39% overall and 29% from three. The biggest difference between the two teams came at the glass. The Aggies hauled in 50 rebounds while the Rebels were only able to secure 21.
Obaseki, Taylor, and Radford accounted for 73% of Texas A&M’s scoring in the contest, posting 63 of the team’s 86 points. Obaseki led the way with 25 points. Radford had a double-double consisting of 19 points and 10 boards. Andersson Garcia grabbed 13 rebounds.
Jaylen Murray led Ole Miss in scoring with 21 points. Murrell and Jaemyn Brakefeld also reached double figures in the team’s subpar offensive outing.
“There’s a lot of pride in Ole Miss basketball. There will be better days than today as we continue to build this,” Beard said after the game. “From a coaching standpoint, it’s really hard to coach attitude and effort — it might be impossible. No disrespect to A&M. They played a good, clean game today … so no way am I taking away from their performance today … but I would say a lot of today was self-inflicted.”
As for players returning next season, senior guard Matthew Murrell has made it clear that he will not be back in Oxford. He will likely pursue a future in the NBA. Moussa Cisse and Jaemyn Brakefield, both of whom took center court ahead of the game during the senior day ceremony, are up in the balance, and Beard did not confirm whether or not they will return. Allen Flanigan is out of eligibility after the conclusion of this season and cannot return next year.
Ole Miss still has basketball to play. The team will appear in the SEC Tournament as a 10 or 11 seed against an opponent yet to be determined. While NCAA Tournament hopes are slim to none as the Rebels would have to win the conference championship to get an at-large bid into the big dance, Ole Miss is a lock to compete in the National Invitational Tournament, that is if Beard accepts the bid.
