Chris Beard has the Ole Miss Rebels in the thick of the Southeastern Conference standings. He credits what he learned from Bob Knight.

Ole Miss finished just 7-11 in SEC play last season, had no wins over a ranked conference opponent, and lost both matchups with Auburn by 14 and 23 points, respectively. Auburn is an even stronger team this season, so for Beard and the Rebels to cut that deficit to only 10 points while keeping it close the majority of the game is impressive.

Texas coach Rodney Terry, Chris Beard's former lead assistant at UT, says the Ole Miss coach remains one of "my really close friends in the business."

After the game, Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard discussed how pleased he was with his team's effort and execution during Tuesday's game outside of a defensive "lull" in the second