The race for NCAA March Madness is heating up, and as the third month of the year begins, every game becomes a must-win. All eyes in the nation are on college basketball, with conference titles being secured and the final spots for the frenzy tournament closing. Vanderbilt Commodores head coach Mark Byington didn’t shy away from the spotlight, embracing it instead with a bold six-word reminder to the rest of the league.
The Commodores have put the NCAA on notice as they boast a three-game win streak amid one of the toughest stretches in the nation. Vanderbilt has faced six straight ranked opponents, coming out of it with a 3-3 record.
Byington and Vanderbilt are aware of the challenges the SEC schedule presents, but they aren’t shying away from them. Instead, the head coach in Nashville poked the bear recently, sending out a strong warning to the rest of the league.
“We’ve got something to prove,” Byington said, via On3. “And that’s a great motivator. We’ve talked about the NCAA Tournament. We talked about this league. Some people want to run from the challenge of this league. They want to run from the competition.“
Iron sharpens iron
Vanderbilt is looking to shock the entire college basketball landscape with a deep run in March Madness, though their spot in the tournament hasn’t been confirmed yet. Regardless, as the Commodores walked out of their toughest stretch of the season with revamped hope and confidence, Byington believes his team is built to win in March.
“Like I said, six straight-ranked teams. Nobody else is going through that besides the SEC,” Coach Byington added. “What that does is it kind of figures out how strong you are, how good you are, and you better learn along the way. And these guys are doing it.”
Finish strong
Vanderbilt will close out the season with games versus Arkansas and at Georgia, which will have huge implications for the Commodores in the SEC tournament. Currently sitting at 10th overall in the SEC, wins over the Razorbacks and Bulldogs could lift Vandy over its competitors and into a first-round bye seed in the conference tournament.