Texas-Ole Miss marks Chris Beard’s first game back in Austin

Texas will face its former coach Chris Beard when it hosts reeling Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon in a Southeastern Conference clash in Austin, Texas.

The Longhorns (14-9, 5-5 SEC) have won two consecutive games and three of their past four, with the most recent victory an 84-75 decision at home over South Carolina. Dailyn Swain amassed team highs of 22 points and 10 rebounds in the win.

Tramon Mark added 18 points for Texas in the win while Matas Vokietaitis and Camden Heide each had 12. The Longhorns earned a 40-25 edge on the glass and grabbed 17 offensive rebounds.

"It was great to see (Mark) step up and find his rhythm -- we're much more difficult to defend when he's scoring as well," Texas coach Sean Miller said. "And the other guy that's just really playing well right now is (Heide). His ability to shoot the ball, his 3-point shots when South Carolina went to the zone, broke the game open."

It will be the first trip back to Austin on the Ole Miss bench for Beard, who was fired at Texas in January 2023 after a domestic violence charge a month earlier.

"We expect to have a game against a really good team playing their best, prepared, and we have to be equally prepared and juiced up and ready to go and try to take advantage of our home atmosphere," Miller said about Saturday's game and Beard's return.

With his Texas tenure in the rearview mirror, Beard's focus these days is on getting his Rebels team back on track.

Ole Miss (11-11, 3-6) has dropped four straight games, most recently an 84-66 dismantling on the road by Tennessee on Tuesday. The Rebels got 15 points apiece from Patton Pinkins and AJ Storr while Ilias Kamardine added 11 and Eduardo Klafke had 10 in the loss.

Ole Miss trailed by just six points eight minutes into the second half before surrendering a run over the middle of the half that doomed its chances at a comeback.

Beard was not around at the end of the Tennessee game after being ejected with 6:15 remaining.

"All we ask for is a consistent whistle," Beard said. "The free-throw differential in (the Tennessee) game and the foul differential is just frustrating from a coaching standpoint and a playing standpoint. At some point as a coach, you have to fight for your players."