Can Mark Byington, Vanderbilt Catch Alabama and Refute Narrative? Time to Find Out; Column

Vanderbilt basketball, led by Mark Byington, was in a different place a year ago as it traveled to Tuscaloosa and lost to Alabama. Now, it appears to be further along as it looks to take down the Crimson Tide and can refute a narrative that Nate Oats promoted.

Jan 21, 2025; Tuscaloosa, Alabama, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Mark Byington talks with his team during a timeout in the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Will McLelland-Imagn Images | Will McLelland-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE—Alabama head coach Nate Oats’ words are a perfect representative of the narrative that surrounds Vanderbilt basketball at this stage of its 14-0 season. 

Oats was complementary of Mark Byington’s team and what it’s capable of doing to his on Wednesday night at Memorial Gymnasium, but his comments had an undertone–as do just about everyone’s in regard to Byington’s team these days. 

"They're really good,” Oats said on his coaches’ show. “Highest-ranked team metrics-wise and all that -- they haven't played the schedule we have, but they're really good. We're gonna have to be super locked in. We're gonna have to play better on the defensive side than we did [against Kentucky]."

Hear that? 

“They haven’t played the schedule we have.” 

Dec 17, 2025; Tuscaloosa, AL, USA; Alabama head coach Nate Oats gives instructions to his team as they play USF at Coleman Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News | Gary Cosby Jr.-Tuscaloosa News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

There’s not much to critique about this Vanderbilt team at this stage, but the one weak spot in regard to its body of work at this stage is its No. 121 non-conference strength of schedule. The stat is the sole metric contributing to the dichotomy of Vanderbilt’s 14-0 record and the narrative that still surrounds it. 

Vanderbilt has been intentional about doing everything it can to dispel the idea that it hasn’t played anyone of note through the season’s first two months by pointing out that it’s got two wins over teams ranked in the AP Top 25, led the country with five quad-one wins before one went down to quad two and has 3.95 wins above bubble. 

Even with the added context that Vanderbilt has two quad 1A wins and is ranked No. 5 in the NET, Oats is still right. Vanderbilt hasn’t yet faced a team that was ranked when it saw them. Alabama has played against five and knocked off two. The metric that makes Oats’ passive argument the strongest is KenPom’s strength of schedule metric, which has Alabama over 100 spots higher than Vanderbilt. 

The idea that Oats is right makes this one all that more important for Vanderbilt. 

If Vanderbilt is going to dispel the narrative that surrounds it–unfairly or not–here’s its chance. Wednesday night, it’s got a top three SEC team–and a ranked team–coming to its place. Wednesday night won’t crown Vanderbilt a national champion if it wins or solidify that it’s fraudulent if it doesn’t find a way to win, but it will be a barometer of sorts for it. 

Perhaps more important than Vanderbilt’s opportunity to pick up a narrative-changing win is its opportunity to demonstrate that it’s improved enough to be on track to do things that it hasn’t in a long time. Oats’ program represents what Vanderbilt wants to turn into in some ways. 

Dec 29, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores forward Devin McGlockton (99) celebrates the basket of guard Tyler Tanner (3) against the New Haven Chargers during the second half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

It’s been to a Final Four and an Elite Eight in the past two seasons. Oats’ staff rejuvenated a previously limping program. It’s a particularly comparable program to Byington’s because of their similarly up-tempo styles that have NBA roots. 

The track meet that ensued in Tuscaloosa last season indicated that Vanderbilt would consistently get beat at its own game if the two teams faced off often. Alabama had more identity. It had more role definition. Its guards were better. It was bigger. It had Mo Dioubate–a player unlike anyone on Vanderbilt’s roster. As painful as it was for Vanderbilt, Alabama looked like a program that had already been built while Vanderbilt’s appeared to be under construction. 

Byington appeared to know it, too. 

“They know who they are and what they are. I wanted to see where we were in an environment like this against a team like this,” Byington said after Vanderbilt’s loss to Alabama last season. “We’re not there yet. We’re not there yet to be able to beat a team like that. We’ve definitely gotta figure out some adjustments.” 

On the surface, it appeared as if Byington’s comments were intended toward short-term adjustments. Watching back Byington’s postgame monologue a season later and seeing how Vanderbilt approached its offseason roster build indicates that he likely had more big-picture thoughts in his head than he let on in that moment. 

Byington and his Vanderbilt program have clearly progressed in their build since that night in Tuscaloosa–that’s irrefutable regardless of what happens on Wednesday night. He’s got better guardplay. He’s got returners that enhance the foundation of this build. He’s got a bigger and better team that appears to be a better fit for his system. 

Does he have enough to get over the hump against Alabama, though? Does he have enough to track down Oats despite the head start he’s gotten over the years?

Time to find out.