Vanderbilt Basketball's Foul Issues Came To Light In Texas Loss. So Did One Of Its Roster Deficiencies.

Somewhere successful nan backmost of Devin McGlockton and Jalen Washington’s minds, it was location pestering them. 

The thought was clear to anyone that had been watching and there’s nary conceivable measurement that they were capable to shingle it and play pinch nan state that Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington often pitches to his large men. As overmuch arsenic McGlockton and Washington aimed to interest astir their individual matchups, they had to interest astir staying connected nan floor. 

Vanderbilt knew this would beryllium nan lawsuit arsenic a consequence of Texas being nan astir businesslike squad successful nan federation astatine drafting fouls anterior to Wednesday night, but it knowledgeable nan Longhorns’ ace powerfulness successful its 80-64 nonaccomplishment successful Austin. 

“The large feline sewage america successful foul problem early and benignant of disjointed america early,” Byington said successful his postgame power hit. “We had to spell heavy into our chair and play Leverett some.” 

When it had each wrapped, Washington fouled retired successful conscionable 15 minutes, was scoreless, grabbed conscionable 2 rebounds and had a antagonistic plus/minus. McGlockton only picked up 1 second-half foul, but had to play conservatively astatine times and only played 23 minutes. 

Byington says 2 of Washington's fouls were “some sloppy fouls”  and that McGlockton’s 2nd foul included a telephone that was “hard to take,” but those claims don’t alteration nan reality that Vanderbilt had to unrecorded disconnected of freshman large man Jayden Leverett for a full of six minutes. When Leverett wasn't successful nan game, Vanderbilt had to beryllium observant pinch its usage of its go-to bigs. Texas couldn’t opportunity nan aforesaid successful respect to its large man Matas Vokietaitis–who went for 22 points connected 7-for-9 shooting while drafting astir of McGlockton and Washington’s fouls. 

“The large fella inside, he did origin america immoderate problems,” Byington said. “I springiness him credit, he’s sewage immoderate awesome flailing and caput bobs successful there. We said connected portion that ‘listen, you can’t beryllium successful these situations because he is going to benignant of adhd immoderate play to it, don’t get caught up successful it’ and we did.” 

The squad Vanderbilt saw Wednesday does that to conscionable astir everyone and made Vanderbilt play left-handed successful nan frontcourt capable to each but extremity this thing. Vanderbilt had immoderate flukey numbers–like its 4-for-13 people connected layups and mixed six turnovers from Duke Miles and Tyler Tanner–go against it, but nan quality connected Wednesday was its frontcourt. Perhaps nan biggest frontcourt discrepancy was nan specified thought that Texas had its bigs connected nan level for nan entirety of nan nighttime while Vanderbilt didn’t. 

Why that’s important is because of really that affects things successful a scope beyond Wednesday night. 

It hasn’t been rather this drastic, but Vanderbilt has struggled often pinch akin issues passim nan people of nan season–and possibly much than Byington anticipated arsenic he built this roster. Washington’s 2.3 fouls per crippled matched his mean astatine North Carolina past season–albeit, he was playing much minutes per crippled astatine Vanderbilt heading into Wednesday night–and McGlockton’s 3.3 mean eclipsed his 3.0 per night. 

Heading into Wednesday, McGlockton had recorded astatine slightest 4 fouls successful 5 games, fouled retired of 1 and recorded astatine slightest 3 fouls successful 8 further games. Washington had 4 games successful which he recorded astatine slightest four, fouled retired of 1 and recorded 3 aliases much successful 4 further games. 

Vanderbilt’s roster improvement is noticeable twelvemonth complete twelvemonth successful nan improved physicality and positional size it has crossed nan committee arsenic good arsenic nan improved guardplay it has. It was expected to make it importantly much move than it has astatine nan five, though. It was expected to return capable unit disconnected of McGlockton to wherever he didn’t person to beryllium successful arsenic galore positions that could get him successful foul trouble. 

Purely astatine nan five–the position wherever McGlockton accounted for astir of his minutes–Vanderbilt still only has 2 go-to bigs successful Washington and McGlockton. Washington is taller and longer than erstwhile Vanderbilt halfway Jaylen Carey–and his shotblocking threat has made Vanderbilt amended defensively–but his summation doesn’t solely lick Vanderbilt’s frontcourt problems. Byington still doesn’t person a 3rd large he tin move to pinch spot arsenic Leverett gets his bearings and Jacksonville State transportation Mason Nicholson has seemingly fallen to nan bottommost of nan extent chart. 

Vanderbilt is much beingness and bigger crossed nan committee and is amended arsenic a result, but it whitethorn not person immoderate of nan answers astatine nan 5 that it appeared arsenic if it may. It’s sewage capable to beryllium amended location than it was connected Wednesday, but it’s created a smaller separator for correction for its go-to guys than it apt wanted to.