If you’re going to get ejected, you might as well get your money’s worth. That’s exactly what Chris Beard did on Tuesday night in Knoxville. With his team seeing the game slip away late in the second half, Beard decided to tell the refs exactly what he thought about a growing free throw deficit.
Tennessee ended up taking 34 free throws on the night, as compared to the 21 that Ole Miss attempted. Beard’s emotion spilled over with a little over six minutes left to play.
Tennessee would cruise from there to an 84-66 victory, which was their fourth consecutive.
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“You have a Hall of Fame coach here, first ballot, one of the best that’s ever done it,” Beard said when asked about the ejection. “And I think if you look back at different spots in his career, he had to fight for his program. And so I kind of think that’s where we are with Ole Miss right now.
“I mean, the free-throw differential in this game and the foul differential in this game, just frustrating from a coaching standpoint and a playing standpoint. It’s never personal.”
You know you’ll be getting a physical game when you suit up to play Tennessee. That’s been the brand of basketball a Rick Barnes coached team has always had. The Volunteers are one of the best teams in the nation at getting to the line too, averaging 24.9 attempts per game (good for 36th overall in D-1).
Beard, who is in the middle of a tough season and now sitting at 11-11 overall, thought his team was getting the short end of the stick on Tuesday though.
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“But on tonight’s game, the free-throw differential, the fouls called differential, at some point as a coach you have to fight for your players,” Beard finished. “That’s exactly what happened tonight.”
