Mark Byington describes 'psychology huddle' he had with Vanderbilt vs. Kentucky

Vanderbilt never lost sight of its goal en route to its 74-69 upset win over No. 9 Kentucky on Saturday. After the game, Commodores head coach Mark Byington reflected on a pivotal huddle in the final stretch of the heated battle.

“We were in one of the timeouts, and I got one coach yelling at me about defense, another about offense and everything else, and I told them, I was like, ‘Look, we need a psychology huddle,'” Byington said. “I was like, ‘Y’all can keep all this other stuff.’

“I wanted to reset. When you’re at that situation — it was like eight minutes to go, six minutes to go — it was a one-possession game. I wanted our guys to reset and play the game from here on out. They probably forgot how good they played in the first half. They were thinking about what they did in the second half. And some things didn’t go our way. But to be able to have that is one of the hardest things in sports.”

Vanderbilt had all the momentum in the first half, taking a 41-27 break into the half. However, the Commodores’ lead began to crumble when Kentucky kicked off the second half with a 24-10 run.

With the game tied at 51-51, Vanderbilt didn’t sputter. Instead, the Commodores came together, finishing the game on a 6-0 run. Vanderbilt’s defense was just as pivotal as its offense in the turnaround, preventing Kentucky from scoring in the final 2:56 of the game.

It was a gutsy showing for Vanderbilt. Despite having homecourt advantage in the SEC showdown, Kentucky’s fans traveled well to Nashville, making their presence known all afternoon. Mark Byington was proud of his team’s response to the adverse situation.

“Momentum was huge. Their fans are going crazy. Their guys were playing good basketball. And to be able to stop that, and to be able to figure out a way, it’s a lot of character. It really is,” Byington said. “The guys did a good job with that.”

When the dust settled, Vanderbilt fans were the ones rushing the court in celebration while Kentucky fans were forced to stumble their way out of Memorial Gymnasium.

With the victory, Vanderbilt improved its conference record to 4-3. The Commodores will have a mid-week bye this week before facing off against Oklahoma on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will air live on the SEC Network.