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 basketball dominated Kentucky on Tuesday night, beating the Wildcats 98-84. The Rebels used a 23-point halftime lead to down the Wildcats, as Kentucky was never able to close the gap in the second half.

What Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard saw in the practice facility a few days ago backed his belief in Davon Barnes' ability to seal the game.

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.