Mark Byington blunt about impact of Kentucky's big men: 'They were a problem'

Vanderbilt was outscored by 20 points during the second half of their 82-61 loss to Kentucky on Wednesday night.

UK’s lineup featured two 6-foot-11 big men in the lineup in Andrew Carr and Amari Williams. They combined for 28 points during the effort — 17 of which came in the second half. After the game, Commodores head coach Mark Byington explained the impact they had on the lopsided second half.

“The bigs — they were a problem. It started with Carr in the first couple of possessions in the second half, and then Williams got going,” Byington said. “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.”

Carr has been dealing with back issues for the better part of the last two months. He missed time in January with the ailment.

Meanwhile, Williams has been the unlikely point guard of Mark Pope’s squad, filling in for the Wildcats who have also been without their top three ball handlers in Lamont Butler, Jaxson Robinson and Kerr Kriisa at times throughout the season.

He’s been a dominant force for the Wildcats and scored his 17 points on a perfect 6 of 6 shooting.

“Everybody in the country knows he is going to his left hand, but it is still tough to stop,” Byington said of Williams. “We were a little undersized, and we did not want to double because he is a great passer. So, if you double, then he gives up threes. … Today he did a really good job, and like I said, especially in the second half, it was a problem for us.”

For Vanderbilt, they scored 40 points in the first half and for a while, looked like they would give Kentucky some trouble on their home floor. After all, Vanderbilt upset then-No. 9 Kentucky in Nashville in January. After taking Tennessee to the limit in their previous matchup, a Vanderbilt upset was a real possibility for UK coming into the second half.

The Commodores have five more games left on their regular season schedule and will travel home to host No. 24 Ole Miss on Saturday afternoon. Tip-off is set for 3:30 p.m. ET and will air live on the SEC Network.