On the verge of history, Vanderbilt basketball found it's not invincible; Column

With Vanderbilt big man Devin McGlockton squared up in his face, Texas wing Tramon Mark pulled it up and rose over him while nearly flicking it towards the basket as the shot clock wound down. It’s the type of shot that often defines a game like Vanderbilt and Texas played on Wednesday night.

If one like that–a relatively low-percentage look–falls, it seemingly always indicates that the player and team that makes it have an inside track on a win. If it doesn’t, it means that an overwhelming sense of momentum and fate hasn’t overtaken things. That was the only way to explain what happened as Mark let it rip and threw up a shot that indicated that some sort of higher power had predestined Vanderbilt to lose Wednesday in Austin.

Mark is as experienced of an SEC player as there was on the floor on Wednesday, but the book on him is out. The sixth-year Texas wing has never shot it better than 36.4% from 3-point range and is shooting 31.3% from beyond the arc this season.

This one didn’t care about averages or fairness, though. It was on a track to slash through the Nylon and it wasn’t stopping for anything.

“It was tough, it was heartbreaking,” Byington said of the shot. “Tramon Mark just made tough shots.”

Vanderbilt basketball — Jan 14, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; Texas Longhorns guard Tramon Mark (12) celebrates a three point basket during the second half against the Vanderbilt Commodores at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

The shot was emblematic of why this Vanderbilt team never claimed to be chasing perfection. This Vanderbilt team is old enough and smart enough to know that crazy things happen on the road in league play. It knows that running the gauntlet that comes with a power-five road slate is like standing in and withstanding punch after punch from a boxer with weighted gloves. In theory, it’s possible to stay standing. It’s not likely, though.

In contrast to everything that this Vanderbilt team has done throughout its 16-0 start, it had no answers for the inevitability of what it faced on Wednesday. Vanderbilt was down four with 11 minutes to play, but gave up a run. It was down six with eight minutes to go and couldn’t withstand Texas’ final punch. It wasn’t a matter of effort or incapability, it just was. By the end of things, it had to deal with a 80-64 final score that indicated that this was even worse than it looked.

“I thought Texas played at a really high level,” Byington said. “We expected that with our situation coming into the game and the SEC on the road in this the environment, we expected them to play great–and they did.”

While on the verge of setting the program record for most wins to start a season, Vanderbilt found that out the hard way that sometimes the challenges of the road outweigh destiny and cool stories. It also found out that the road in league play manifests out of character mistakes and brings difficulties to life in ways that they haven’t been before. It strips a team down to its foundation and forces it to play through things it otherwise wouldn’t. This is why Byington's team made it clear early on that a perfect season wasn't its goal. It always wanted to be good, but it always knew something like this was likely.

Vanderbilt Basketbal — Jan 14, 2026; Austin, Texas, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Chandler Bing (7) reacts to a loss against the Texas Longhorns after the game at Moody Center. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images | Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

The former was applicable as Vanderbilt guard Duke Miles–the normally steady veteran–threw it away a few times as he appeared to be overwhelmed, Vanderbilt went 4-for-13 on layups, Vanderbilt wing Tyler Nickel got sped up and let it go through his legs and Vanderbilt–which ranked 28th in defensive rebounding efficiency prior to Wednesday night–was out-rebounded 42-24. Byington says he was "disappointed" in that rebounding effort despite Vanderbilt only giving up six more second-chance points than it had. The Vanderbilt head coach says his team's rebounding issues messed with Vanderbilt's ability to get in transition.

The latter brought to light things about this group that have been swept under the rug as Vanderbilt’s foul trouble stuck with it all night, it trailed for more time on Wednesday than it had all season and a nearly invincible team was ran off the floor down the stretch.

Time to flush it and move on.

“It’s basketball,” Byington said. “We played really, really hard. Sometimes that’s not enough. We gotta be a little bit sharper.”