Vanderbilt finds success is costly. So far, two court-stormings have net them $750K in fines
When he was hired by Vanderbilt to rebuild the men's basketball program after years of mediocrity, Mark Byington envisioned a moment like the football team experienced last October, when fans stormed the field following a win over Alabama.
Byington might have to start getting used to such moments.
In the span of just over a week, the Commodores have edged No. 6 Tennessee and pulled an upset of ninth-ranked Kentucky — heck, they played No. 4 Alabama tough in a road loss in between — and finally crashed the AP Top 25 after nearly a decade in the hinterlands. They came in at No. 24 in this week's poll, one of 10 schools from the might SEC in the rankings.
'There's big-picture things I wanted to happen around here and ... at one point I want it to be where we're not surprised, that we don't feel like the underdog in these games, and we're going into them knowing that that our program is good and we expect to win,' Byington said. 'We're not there yet, so let the fans enjoy it.'
Even if the celebrations prove costly. The court-storming after the win over the Vols cost the Commodores a $250,000 fine from the SEC, and a second storming after the win over the Wildcats earned them another $500,000 punishment.
'We got to start a GoFundMe page or something to pay fines,' Byington said. 'We'll figure it out.'
They have a bit of time. The Commodores, who are ranked for the first time since Dec. 7, 2015, get a slight reprieve from what has been the toughest league in the country before traveling to SEC newcomer Oklahoma.
Things only get tougher from there. Vanderbilt has a stretch spanning about a month where it visits fifth-ranked Florida, plays Texas and No. 1 Auburn, heads to Tennessee and Kentucky for rematches, welcomes No. 23 Ole Miss to Memorial Gymnasium, visits No. 13 Texas A&M and finishes up with No. 20 Missouri.
'It's not time to reflect, and it's on to what's next. And I've always kind of had the mentality,' Byington said. 'If you get too low in this league, I mean, it's going to stomp you and crush you. And if you get too high, somebody's going to knock you off. And so we keep it simple. Let's just keep getting better. We'll see what happens.'
Tennessee's tough stretch
Everyone in the SEC is going to have a brutal stretch at some point, and Rick Barnes and the Vols are going through theirs right now. After losing to the Commodores, they knocked off No. 14 Mississippi State before falling again, this time in a 53-51 slugfest against top-ranked Auburn in a game that wasn't decided until the closing seconds.
Now, the Vols have a three-game homestand against ranked teams beginning with Kentucky. The Gators arrive for another showdown of top-10 teams, and then Missouri visits Thompson–Boling Arena.
'We have a chance to be so much better and I think we can get better,' Barnes said. 'We're coming to the end of January. A lot of basketball left. We want to be at our best at the end of the year and we got guys that are going to continue to work to do that.'
Still streaking — barely
Two-time defending national champion UConn heads into the week having lost three of its past five games, all to unranked foes, and tumbled six spots to No. 25 this week. The Huskies narrowly extended their poll streak to 52 consecutive weeks, the fourth-longest current run behind Houston (98), Kansas (77) and Tennessee (72).
It won't be easy to keep it going this week. UConn plays DePaul before a trip to No. 9 Marquette.
Missouri Valley love
Drake received some Top 25 votes earlier this season and continues to roll along at 18-2 overall and 8-2 in league play heading into a game against Northern Iowa. But the Bulldogs aren't the only Valley team getting some respect.
Bradley, which hasn't been ranked since the final poll of the 1987-88 season, picked up a vote. The Braves have won five straight to improve to 18-3 overall and 9-1 in the league. They next play UIC.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
an hour ago
- USA Today
Ranking all 16 Southeastern Conference football helmets heading into the 2025 campaign
Ranking all 16 Southeastern Conference football helmets heading into the 2025 campaign The Southeastern Conference is the most iconic league in college football, with a history dating back to 1932 when 13 members of the then-recently defunct Southern Conference joined together to form what is now known as the SEC. Over the 90-plus years of existence, the league has boasted some of the best teams of all time. The SEC has also carried a reputation for sporting some of most iconic helmets on the collegiate gridiron. With the additions of the Texas Longhorns and Oklahoma Sooners to the league last season, the conference is now truly stacked, as even the weaker offerings are still among the best the sport has to offer. Below is a look at Gators Wire's updated rankings of all 16 member schools' helmets ahead of the 2025 campaign, including the Florida Gators. No. 16: Ole Miss Rebels Even though Ole Miss's helmets are last in this ranking, their toppers are not terrible. It just lacks the oomph one looks for in a sport that is fueled by violence. The script university nickname just does not inspire much fear or excitement — it makes me want to drink a mint julep in a calm grove. No. 15: Tennessee Volunteers The shade known as Tennessee Orange is an abomination and the T logo's font just does not work for me. The design and color scheme are far outdated, making it difficult for me to take the team seriously sometimes while watching the games. No teeth at all to it. Read more at Vols Wire No. 14: Mississippi State Bulldogs There is simply nothing remarkable about Mississippi State's football helmet. The logo is dated as is the primary color; on the other hand, that vintage shade is rarely seen, giving it a bit of novelty. That said, the overall design is the epitome of mid. No. 13: Vanderbilt Commodores Commodores have a tough act to follow in the SEC, but their helmets are fairly solid. The star and capital V logo is admittedly tidy, as is the black-on-gold color theme, but it is a little bit bland. Perhaps if they were better on the field, I would have a rosier view of them. No. 12: Georgia Bulldogs Sure, the 'Dawgs have been a powerhouse program this past half decade but face it, the logo is pretty generic: Grambling State uses it as well as does the Green Bay Packers. The red, black and white color scheme is robust but just not enough to overcome the lack of originality. These helmets could be ranked lower if the program were less successful. Read more at UGA Wire No. 11: South Carolina Gamecocks Something just does not sit well with me when I look at the logo enclosed within a weirdly fonted capital C. The fighting cock does look formidable despite what appears to be a broken neck but the color scheme draws away from it a bit. It is a 3.6 Roentgen design overall: not great, not terrible. No. 10: Missouri Tigers The visage of the Tiger is an improvement over the old block M logo, but it still lacks a little oomph — not to mention there might be too many tiger mascots in the conference. The color scheme is strong and the roaring cat does get you amped, so it is nothing to be ashamed of. Alabama's signature helmet would be ranked even lower if they were not so iconic. Sure, simplicity is an important factor in getting the aesthetics correct but the player numbers on the plain red background is just too generic to land too high on this list. Read more at Roll Tide Wire No. 8: Oklahoma Sooners The Sooners also benefit from the iconic nature of their design, but like some of the previous entries, the excitement stops there. The crimson and cream color scheme works, but the block letter logo just lacks some pizazz. Still, not a bad landing spot in the grand scheme of things. Read more at Sooners Wire No. 7: Kentucky Wildcats Kentucky's overall design is clean with a blue and white palette to work with. The interlocking letters of the logo are somewhat of an overused design, but the execution is very well done, giving the Wildcats a fresher look than some of their SEC peers. Read more at UK Wildcats Wire No. 6: Auburn Tigers Auburn gets credit for its burnt orange and navy color scheme plus some iconic points as well. The logo design with the two colors used as outline and fill really pops off the white helmets and represents one of the better abbreviations seen on helmets. Read more at Auburn Wire I have to hand it to TAMU, their helmet design is one of the better ones in the SEC. The symmetry of the A and M underneath the larger T is top-notch, and while I do not particularly love the color maroon, it just works for them. Read more at Aggies Wire No. 4: LSU Tigers The highest-ranked Tigers on this list land in this spot due to a convergence of its iconic nature — particularly the old-school tiger visage — as well as its royal colors of purple and gold. These helmets look like they mean business, and while they do lack a more modern feel, they still are among the best in the SEC. Read more at LSU Wire No. 3: Arkansas Razorbacks The running razorback gets me, to be perfectly honest — anyone who knows anything about feral hogs knows that they are formidable threats when disturbed. Then add the cardinal red color which gives a feel of both anger and blood and you have a recipe for a great football helmet. No. 2: Texas Longhorns Originally, the 'Horns were the top of this list, but I had a change of heart when it came to this update. Texas and its Longhorn logo in burnt orange on a background of white is the perfect mix of clean, iconic and fearsome for a football helmet. The slight iridescence of the modern logo adds a nice final touch to an already near-perfect look. Read more at Longhorns Wire No. 1: Florida Gators Florida's strength in these rankings comes from a combination of its epic orange and blue color scheme as well as the iconic script Gators logo. Unlike Ole Miss' script-based design, these bad boys mean business, especially considering the success the program has seen since implementing it. Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
New York Times
2 hours ago
- New York Times
USMNT not worried about ‘outside noise' following former player criticism
USMNT midfielder Tyler Adams has said that the squad are not worried about 'outside' criticism from former players after the team's recent poor form. Mauricio Pochettino's side were soundly defeated 4-0 by Switzerland in a friendly at Geodis Park in Nashville, Tennessee on Tuesday. The loss was the team's fourth in a row after defeats in the Concacaf Nations League semi-finals against Panama and the subsequent third-place match against Canada, and in a friendly against Turkey on Saturday. The U.S. have now lost five of their 10 games under Pochettino, who was appointed in September 2024. Pochettino's side were without star player Christian Pulisic, as well as his Milan team-mate Yunus Musah, for the games against Turkey and Switzerland, with both players set to miss the summer's Gold Cup. The U.S. take on Trinidad and Tobago in their first fixture of the tournament on Sunday and will also face Saudi Arabia and Haiti in the group stage. Advertisement Former U.S. forwards Clint Dempsey and Landon Donovan were among those to criticise the players, with Adams saying that the squad are tuning out the comments. 'We don't talk about that internally as a group,' Adams told the Associated Press. 'The noise on the outside is the noise on the outside. I think we need to focus on what we need to do as a group and continue to build.' Dempsey said last week that he did not 'understand' the move to miss the Gold Cup and pointed to his own experience appearing at tournaments for the U.S.. 'Whether it was Gold Cup, whether it was Copa (America), whether it was Confederations Cup, whether it was the World Cup, I wasn't going to miss competitions,' Dempsey said on the Men in Blazers podcast. 'For me, I don't understand it because that wasn't my mentality. I always wanted to play in those games.' Donovan, who is second on the U.S. all-time appearance charts and shares the goalscoring record with Dempsey at 57 each, brought up the situation while working as an analyst for FOX's coverage of the UEFA Nations League final, which saw Portugal defeat Spain on penalties. 'This is what it means to represent your country,' Donovan said after Portugal's victory. 'And if you don't want to take this, as a professional soccer player and someone who gets the opportunity to wear that jersey and take it seriously and responsibly, then don't come in. 'I can't help but think about some of our guys on vacation right now not wanting to play in the Gold Cup.' Donovan also criticised the team in March, writing on X: 'I'm so sick of hearing how 'talented' this group of players is and all of the amazing clubs they play for. If you aren't going to show up and actually give a s*** about playing for your national team, decline the invite. Talent is great, pride is better.' Dempsey added that he was 'worried about the future of this U.S. men's national team.' Juventus' Weston McKennie and Tim Weah as well as Borussia Dortmund's Gio Reyna are also set to miss the Gold Cup due to their team's participation at the Club World Cup, which begins on Saturday. Adams missed the Switzerland match with an injury that he attributed to 'overload'. Advertisement 'A little turf toe-type injury,' said the 26-year-old. 'More of an overuse thing probably than anything — overload. It was something that I picked up when I came into camp. Progressing well right now, but just trying to be smart and manage it.' Adams, who plays for Bournemouth in the Premier League, made 32 appearances in all competitions last season as his side finished ninth in the table. ()
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Brian Kelly Takes Stance on Arch Manning
Brian Kelly Takes Stance on Arch Manning originally appeared on Athlon Sports. Brian Kelly wasn't able to keep Arch Manning in his home state. The LSU Tigers head coach is frequently reminded of that, although Garrett Nussmeier is regarded in the same echelon as — if not higher than — the Texas Longhorns signal-caller. Advertisement "Now, Manning is extremely talented, but he's got to go do it," Kelly said Tuesday on ESPN's "College GameDay Podcast." "And there's going to be a couple of days where it doesn't come out the way it's supposed to. How do you bounce back? How do you come back from that? ... I can see the assessment of Manning, he's an outstanding player. But I'll take the guy that's been in the SEC and seen what it looks like." Manning made two starts for the Longhorns last season as Quinn Ewers was sidelined by injury. He's been analyzed ad nauseam this offseason. Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) warms up against the Clemson Tigers during the College Football J. Rebilas-Imagn Images "Look, we hear it every day because he's from Louisiana," Kelly said of Manning. "And listen, there's another guy that hears it all the time and that's Garrett Nussmeier. He's committed, and more than anything else, he's experienced. And in this league, you need to see the bullets flying. Ask Jayden Daniels when he threw for (80) yards against Auburn (in 2022). Advertisement "We were coming back on the plane and I told Mike Denbrock and Joe Sloan at the time, 'If we keep throwing for (80) yards, we're not going to be together very long. We need (Daniels) to develop." Daniels wound up winning the Heisman Trophy the next season. Nussmeier followed that up by posting the most productive go-round of any first-year LSU starter. He threw for 4,052 yards, the second-most in a single season in Tigers history, and only Texas' Quinn Ewers had more passing touchdowns (31) than Nussmeier (29) in the SEC. "All I'm saying is, Nussmeier has seen it," Kelly said. "He knows what he's going to get. There's a confidence he'll bring each and every game through experience, maybe even through some scar tissue, that's going to allow him to be, I believe, the best quarterback." Related: Fans Are Noticing a Major Change About Arch Manning This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
