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

The No. 25 Ole Miss Rebels came out hot in Tuesday's matchup with the No. 14 Kentucky Wildcats. Although they haven't done much of this during SEC play, everything came together, especially in the first half as the Rebels jumped out to a lead that they rode to a 98-84 win over the college basketball blue blood.

Ole Miss basketball almost accomplished something coach Chris Beard has chased his entire career. Assists and turnovers powered the Rebels vs Kentucky

"This is the SEC," Ole Miss coach Chris Beard said. "A two-game winning streak, it's free breakfast burritos in the morning. People want to throw you a parade. A two-game losing streak and you feel like the sun won't come up tomorrow."

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.

Here's where Chris Beard's Ole Miss basketball team stands in the latest NCAA tournament bracket predictions after a loss to No. 1 Auburn

Ole Miss basketball coach Chris Beard took questions after his team's strong performance against the Kentucky Wildcats.