Everything Vanderbilt Coach Mark Byington Said After Loss to Kentucky
First-year Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington was unable to do what any other Commodore coach has done, sweep Kentucky in a season, Wednesday night as Vanderbilt fell to No. 17 Kentucky 82-61.
Vanderbilt (17-9, 5-8 SEC) trailed by just one point at halftime against the Wildcats (18-, 7-6 SEC), but the was outscored in the second half by 20 points that led to Vanderbilt’s loss.
After the game, Vanderbilt coach met with media members to talk about the loss to Kentucky. Here’s what he had to say:
Mark Byington’s Opening Statement:
Well, the first thing that comes to mind—I thought Kentucky was at a high level today. Their efficiency on offense, their execution, their shot-making—everything from 12-for-12 free throws in the first half to just finishing threes in the second half. Their big guys became a problem. In the first half, it was a multitude of things, but in the second half, Carr got them going, the big fellow Williams got them going. They compromised our defense—we tried to stop them in the post and gave up more threes. I thought Pope put them in a great spot to be successful, and those guys executed. We're just having trouble getting breaks sometimes in the second half right now. If it feels like one thing goes against you, another thing goes against you, and we're having trouble getting it. We’ve got to turn our luck around. But the biggest credit goes to Kentucky—I thought they were great tonight. In the first half, I thought we played at a high level, but we didn't maintain it in the second half.
Byington on what makes Amari Williams difficult to stop:
Well, he's huge. If he was 6'6", I wouldn't worry about it, but his arms are incredibly long, he's tall. We know he's going to his left hand—everybody in the country knows he's going to his left hand. Still, he's tough to stop. We were a little undersized, and we didn't want to double because he's a great passer. If you double, then he gives up threes. The first game we played him, I thought we did a good job of keeping him from getting to a deep post position. Today, he did a really good job, especially in the second half. It was a problem for us.
Byington on the pressure Kentucky’s offense puts on a how a team defends it:
Well, the thing is, coming into the game, you're paranoid about the three-pointers. We made some scouting report errors in the first half, and when you make a scouting report error, they make you pay. First play of the game, for example—Bri makes a three, and we gave him space. Right then and there, they had 15 points quickly. It was them being good but also picking on our mistakes. One thing that was impressive tonight—they passed the ball really well. I know they've done that at other times this season, but from their guards to their bigs, they moved the ball well. When teams pass the ball well, the ball finds the open guy, and when that open guy is a three-point shooter, those shots hurt.
Byington on what, if anything, Kentucky did in the second half to slow down Vanderbilt:
I don't think there was a major defensive change. I thought we were finishing well in the first half, and we didn’t finish well in the second. We had a multitude of layups—we missed some, and a couple were challenged. Maybe we should have shot-faked more, which we did in the first half. In the second half, we got a little stubborn and took it in too quickly. If anything, they were blocking more shots in the second half, but it wasn’t a major change. I just thought we got out of character. There were some good defensive plays, but we lost ourselves.
Byington on what he saw from Kentucky’s Amari Williams and Andrew Car:
That’s what I was talking about with the bigs—they were a problem. It started with Carr, first couple possessions in the second half, and then Williams got going. You have to pick and choose your battles. We tried to go zone, we were throwing everything at them. Two good players—fifth-year guys, older players. It looks like Carr is healthy again, and when he's healthy, he's a matchup problem. Williams is tough no matter what, but Carr being healthy makes a difference.
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Taylor Hodges is a staff writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI covering all-things Vanderbilt. Taylor brings more than a decade’s worth of award-winning sports writing, photography and video experience covering every level of sports — from Little League baseball to professional sports and other sports like hunting and fishing. Taylor is fueled by his lifelong passion for sports that began the same day Kirk Gibson hit his legendary World Series walk-off home run, Arkansas beat Texas in Austin and No. 4 Notre Dame beat No. 1 Miami in the Catholics vs. Convicts game.