Mark Byington gives blunt assessment of Vanderbilt's rebounding issues: 'We suck at rebounding'

Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington didn’t mince words following another disappointing performance on the glass. He offered a blunt assessment of his team’s struggles after a lopsided loss to Arkansas.

“Right now we suck at rebounding,” Byington said during his postgame press conference. “We’ve addressed it. We have guys not competing. We have guys not hitting. We’ve played some bigger teams, more physical teams. We’ve also out-rebounded some teams earlier that were bigger and more physical. There’s a lot of things we’ve got to address.”

Those issues were glaring in Vanderbilt’s 93–68 loss to the Razorbacks, as the Commodores were out-rebounded 39–27 and never found an answer once the game tilted in Arkansas’ favor. The Razorbacks jumped out to an early lead and sustained it throughout, outscoring Vanderbilt 47–33 in the second half.

Moreover, Arkansas also took better care of the basketball, committing just seven turnovers compared to Vanderbilt’s 10. Offensively, the Commodores struggled to generate consistent looks, shooting 22-of-58 (37.9 percent) from the field and 10-of-31 (32.3 percent) from three-point range.

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Afterwards, Byington emphasized that rebounding remains the most pressing concern. However, he also pointed to a broader issue with competitiveness and readiness.

“Right now, first off, being ready to compete is No. 1,” Byington added. “Rebounding’s been an issue. Thank goodness we have a couple of days. We need time to reset ourselves. We’ve got to get better. We’re better than this.”

Alas, the loss marked a third straight defeat for Vanderbilt, who fell to 16–3 overall and 3–3 in SEC play. The ‘Dores opened the season 16–0 but has since dropped games to Texas, Florida and Arkansas, surrendering more than 90 points in the latter two losses.

With SEC play intensifying, the margin for error is shrinking. Vanderbilt will look to regroup quickly, as the Commodores return to action on Jan. 24 with a road matchup against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. That game will test whether Byington’s call for urgency and physicality resonates.

As the coach made clear, improvement must start with effort. “We’ve got to get better,” Byington said. “We’re better than this.” We’ll see if his squad comes through.