Mark Byington’s final score after another loss
Since Vanderbilt’s 16-0 start to the season, things haven’t been as smooth as they’ve been going into the heart of SEC play. Since suffering their first loss of the season against Texas back on January 14, the Commodores went 5-6. After Vanderbilt’s last loss, 69-65 to Tennessee, head coach Mark Byington was honest in his thoughts after the gameaccording to Ryan Shumpert 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 at Missouri, maybe half an inch away from winning at Missouri,” Byington said. “And you come back and play Tennessee, and a great basketball environment, and we had some things we just couldn’t finish in the last minute and a half.”
“I mean, Nate Ament made a shot that was — he gets a perfect save. And maybe there was some footwork or whatever,” Byington continued. “And you see what happened there, but he still made it. And you did everything right. And sometimes you do things right and you don’t get the right result.”
After the loss to Tennessee, Vanderbilt fell to 21-6 overall and 8-6 in SEC play. It was also their second straight loss after dropping the aforementioned game to Missouri. The Missouri’s loss was another heartbreaker like Vanderbilt let it slip away, 81-80.
This is Mark Byington’s second season at the helm of Vanderbilt as coach. Last year, the Commodores finished 20-13 and 8-10 in SEC play. They won the NCAA Tournament for the first time in eight years, before losing to Saint Mary’s in the first 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.
2026-02-22 19:22:00
