Ever since Vanderbilt’s 16-0 start to the season, things haven’t been quite as smooth as they’ve gotten into the heart of SEC play. Since suffering their first loss of the season to Texas back on Jan. 14, the Commodores have gone 5-6. Following Vanderbilt’s most recent loss, 69-65 against Tennessee, head coach Mark Byington was honest in his postgame thoughts, as per Ryan Schumpert of Rocky Top Insider.
“I mean, you have to respond. You don’t have a choice. You know, it happens in life. It happens in basketball. We were an inch away from winning the game at Missouri, maybe a half inch away from winning the game at Missouri,” Byington said. “And you come back and you’re playing Tennessee, and a great basketball environment, and we just had some things that just couldn’t quite finish the last minute and a half.”
“I mean, Nate Ament made a shot that was – gets perfect defense. And there might have been some shuffling of feet or whatever else,” Byington continued. “And you see what happened there, but he still made the shot. And you did everything right. And sometimes you do things right and you don’t get the right result.”
Following the loss to Tennessee, Vanderbilt fell to 21-6 overall, and 8-6 in SEC play. It was also their second consecutive loss after dropping the aforementioned game to Missouri. The Missouri loss was another heartbreaking one as Vanderbilt let it slip away, 81-80.
This is Mark Byington’s second season at the helm as head coach at Vanderbilt. Last year, the Commodores finished 20-13 and 8-10 in SEC play. They made the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years, before losing to Saint Mary’s in the opening round.
Prior to Vanderbilt, Byington was the head coach at James Madison for four seasons. During the 2023-24 season, he led the Dukes to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2013.
