Vanderbilt Basketball Clearly Has Something Here Despite Small Sample Size; Column

NASHVILLE—Watching any compilation of five players that Mark Byington threw on the floor on Monday night indicated the same major takeaway regarding his team was applicable. It wasn’t hard to see, either. Perhaps the most impressive part was how noticeable it was to anyone who could see the Memorial Gymnasium court on Monday night.

This Vanderbilt team is bigger, stronger, more conjoined and a better shooting team than it was this time last season. It has the look of a roster built over the course of an entire offseason rather than one that was slapped together in a pinch. All of Byington and company’s strategy in regard to how they wanted to build this thing appears to have some merit.

It wasn’t the jarring 105-61 final in the Commodores’ win over Lipscomb that indicated that either. That was a part of it, sure, but Vanderbilt indicated that the level it played at on Monday night was repeatable because of the roster and identity that it’s built.

That’s been consistent through the three times that we’ve seen this Vanderbilt team, too.

Nov 3, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Mark Byington yells to his team against the Lipscomb Bisons during the first half at Memorial Gymnasium. Mandatory Credit: Steve Roberts-Imagn Images | Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

“We have a chance to have a good team,” Byington said. “When you’re a coach you want hope for the season, you want optimism for the season. Some people lie about it, but I can say the truth and say I’m excited about this group. We’ll get better and better.”

This Vanderbilt team took care of business and didn’t look like a team of seven transfers and three scholarship returners as it beat Virginia in an exhibition. It ran UAB off the floor in Birmingham like it should have. On Monday it took care of a Lipscomb team that was constructed in transition. Byington’s team may be in transition, but it hasn’t shown any signs of it at this point.

Say what you will about this group’s lack of a true star. Wonder if it really has a post presence or if it can hold up consistently against good SEC teams. Say the sample size isn’t big enough. Don’t say it hasn’t been good enough to make a positive impression, a better impression than it was expected to make in the short time it’s been on the floor.

“They’re an opponent that I think has a chance to be in the higher end of the SEC this year,” Lipscomb coach Kevin Carroll said, “And obviously get back to the NCAA Tournament.”

Monday’s impression was a dominant one. Vanderbilt made 17 shots from 3-point range, Lipscomb made just 17 field goals. The Commodores turned Lipscomb over 18 times and scored 33 points off of them. Perhaps most telling was the 55.9% field goal percentage that Vanderbilt posted relative to Lipscomb's 30.4%. Vanderbilt and Lipscomb both wanted to run and Vanderbilt beat the Bisons at their own game. Byington’s team was good enough to punish Lipscomb for every mistake it made.

The generally unshakeable midmajor from down the street couldn’t get into any of its actions offensively and looked overpowered when it tried to go anywhere near the paint. This Vanderbilt team is good enough–and deep enough–to break a team’s spirit.

“I think it’s a team show,” Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner said postgame after he ran the show with a career-high 18 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the field. “We have a ton of guys that can do a lot.”

Vanderbilt appeared to have done that–or at least severely dejected Lipscomb–when veteran wing Ross Candelino knocked down a shot from 3-point range in front of the Bisons’ bench early in the second half and the clapping was difficult to spot on the baseline as Lipscomb ran back down the floor.

Don’t take Vanderbilt’s Monday performance as a true barometer of where it is, but it passed every test that it faced. It’s still got work to do if it wants to get to where it believes it can go, though. Just ask Byington. Vanderbilt’s second-year head coach can nitpick any good performance, but even he took a step back and acknowledged what his team has shown–even if he prefaced it.

“This is a great step one,” Byington said. “Great start. Just the start. We’ve got a lot of things to fix. As a coach, you’re always looking for things to fix. But, we’ll celebrate this one tonight.”