What Mark Byington Said About Vanderbilt Basketball’s Injury Situation

Vanderbilt’s coach gave injury updates to Frankie Collins and Duke Miles after the loss to Oklahoma.

Jan 20, 2026; Fayetteville, Arkansas, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores guard Duke Miles (2) drives against Arkansas Razorbacks guard D.J. wagner (21) during the second half at Bud Walton Arena. Arkansas won 93-68. Mandatory Credit: Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images | Nelson Chenault-Imagn Images

NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington gave two injury updates for his two injured guards after Vanderbilt suffered a 92-91 loss to Oklahoma.

Vanderbilt has been without guard Frankie Collins since mid-December and has been without guard Duke Miles the last three games with a knee injury. But Byington did give some clarity as to when his guys could be back.

Starting with Collins, Byington gave a noticeably glass-half-empty response as to when he could return to the court.

“Frankie’s still doing his rehab, he’s still working. It’s hard to give a timetable. I wish it was closer. It was rehab after surgery they said four to six weeks, and we’re at seven now. So, maybe there’s something there holding him back, but we’re not giving up on him,” Byington said.

The answer was more on the pessimistic side compared to last week when Byington had said that Collins was medically cleared to play and was hopeful he could get back going over the midweek bye.

When Collins has been on the floor, he’s been a defensive standout for Vanderbilt as he has averaged 2.4 steals per game and over 11 points per game. The depth was a little tested in the backcourt when he first went out.

But the depth was tested even more when Miles went out for a “clean up” knee surgery the day after Vanderbilt beat Kentucky 80-55 on Jan. 27. Miles, an Oklahoma transfer, was certainly missed in addition to Frankie Collins Saturday against the Sooners.

Byington’s answer on a Miles injury update had more of a confident, sure tone in his response.

“It’s hard to give a timetable, but he’s doing great. He started jogging and he’s motivated,” Byington said. “I think it bothers him as much as anybody he can’t be out there tonight. He’ll be back as soon as he possibly can. I don’t doubt that with him. He played on a bad knee as long as he could. He got it fixed and he’ll come back as fast as he can.”

Miles has been another great player for the Commodores all season. Miles has been the second-leading scorer at 16.6 points per game and 4.3 assists per game. He also has been a stalwart on the defensive end as well with his 2.8 steals per game.

Vanderbilt is missing depth, defense and shooting between Miles and Collins. All three of those aspects were exploited against Oklahoma in some fashion between defensive miscommunication and shot selection at various points in the game.

Vanderbilt goes to Auburn Tuesday night for what should be a crucial game for the SEC standings. Vanderbilt and Auburn are scheduled to tipoff at 6 p.m. CT.