Mark Byington led Vanderbilt to another 20-win season this year. The coach was pleased after watching his team upend Tennessee.
The Vanderbilt basketball team closed out its regular season with a big win on Saturday over Tennessee. It was a revenge win for the Commodores, who dropped a game earlier this season to the Volunteers. Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington opened up after the game about what the win Saturday meant for his program.
“I know there's pride in Vanderbilt. I think football won up here (in Knoxville), and girls basketball won up here. It's a terrific school, a terrific (UT basketball) program. Sometimes I feel like we're chasing them, but we're going to come compete,” Byington said, per the Tennesseean.
The Commodores were led in the game by star Tyler Tanner, who poured in 25 points. Tanner is leading the way for the team this season, as he averages more than 19 points per game.
“He (Tanner) became just the third high-major player in the past 30 seasons to finish conference play averaging better than 21 points, 5.5 assists and 2.0 steals, joining Jason Terry and Jay Williams,” the Vanderbilt basketball program said in a release.
Vanderbilt finished the regular season with a 24-7 record. The team went 11-7 in SEC play.
Byington is in just his second season with the Commodores. He led Vanderbilt to the NCAA Tournament in 2024-25, and the team is poised to head there once again.
The Commodores are entering the SEC tournament on a high-note. Vanderbilt has won back-to-back games to close the regular season. Against Tennessee, Vanderbilt played suffocating defense to open up a huge lead.
“Tennessee hit just 1 of 5 shots and had four turnovers in the first 6:27 of the game, allowing Vanderbilt to jump out to a 15-2 lead,” the Associated Press reported.
While Tennessee closed the gap, the Commodores were able to ultimately take the game. The two clubs could meet again this coming week in the SEC tournament. Tennessee heads to the tournament as the conference's no. 5 seed. The Volunteers will play Thursday.
Vanderbilt plays its first SEC tournament game on Friday. The Commodores go into the event as the no. 4 seed.
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