Ole Miss basketball escaped a costly Mizzou loss. It has Matthew Murrell's evolution to thank

OXFORD ― Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard couldn't enjoy the evidence of individual progress that played out in front of him Saturday.

The game was too important, and his team's shaky performance against a terrible Missouri team didn't allow Beard the space to derive any joy from what he saw. But rest assured, he noticed the defensive effort turned in by his best player, Matthew Murrell. The Rebels needed every bit of it in a 79-76 win over the Tigers at the SJB Pavilion.

"A lot of respect for how he plays defense," Beard said. "Matt's an effort guy. He plays hard, man."

Murrell battled for every inch of space on the defensive end of the floor for 36 minutes against the Tigers. With the ball, he shot 7-for-10 from the field and made six 3-pointers on his way to a 26-point performance that rescued the Rebels' NCAA Tournament resume from a loss that might have damaged it beyond repair.

It was, by definition, a winning effort ‒ the kind of performance Ole Miss needs under conditions Murrell has never encountered before.

The Rebels' at-large March Madness hopes had been expunged by this point in each of the last two seasons. Only as a freshman playing less than 50% of the available minutes had Murrell experienced a postseason push. That one ultimately fell short, the Rebels losing in the first round of the NIT as one of the first four teams left out of the NCAA Tournament field.

Now the Rebels' unquestioned leader as they make their push, Murrell made three vital second-half 3-pointers to spur Ole Miss (19-6, 6-6 SEC) to a 10-point comeback with Mizzou (0-17, 0-12) close enough to taste that elusive first conference win. And Murrell earned the right to make those shots this offseason. Playing dogged defense, his jump shot remained pure and free of wobbly legs.

"He's in elite shape," Beard said. "He's an NBA player in terms of conditioning."

And, Beard said, with his mindset.

"I thought Matt was really a calming force for us tonight in terms of leadership at halftime, throughout the game, when we were down nine or 10," Beard said. "His voice, you could hear it loud and clear in timeouts."

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Ole Miss will depend on those intangible contributions, because there's more winning to be done if it hopes to find itself in the final field of 68 for the first time since 2019.

When it comes to easier-to-define numbers, Murrell's excellence jumps off the page. He's no longer a volume shooter, depended on to carry an ineffective offense on his back. Now shooting over 48% after his efficient night against the Tigers, Murrell's success rate from the field has jumped nearly 12 percentage points from last season. He's averaging more rebounds and more steals, too, with two more steals Saturday.

Murrell has evolved from a bad team's bright spot into a good team's superstar.

Now, he and the rest of the Rebels are keenly aware of what they're playing for, Beard said. Every game until the end of the season will present a 40-minute test with the power to define their season.

Thanks to Murrell, Ole Miss narrowly passed the one it faced Saturday. There are at least seven more to come.

David Eckert covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at deckert@gannett.com or reach him on Twitter @davideckert98.

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This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: How Matthew Murrell's evolution helped Ole Miss basketball beat Missouri