Vanderbilt basketball still 'a work in progress,' according to coach Mark Byington

Mark Byington isn't buying into Vanderbilt basketball .

Not yet.

The Commodores had just defeated Prairie View A&M by 27 points, 89-62, on Nov. 13 to improve to 4-0 this season.

But if you colored Byington impressed, you'd have been coloring outside the lines.

Byington bemoaned his team's second-half showing. Described it as "sloppy." Said standards failed to be met.

"There's going to be some growing pains with this team," he said. "There's youth, and we don't have the maturity, we don't have the ownership, and right now the leadership on the team that we need.

"We have to figure that out."

That said, there are some certainties that seem to be surfacing for a team that, in Byington's words, is "a work in progress."

Ace Glass continues to get the points

For one, Washington State transfer Ace Glass is living up to his name − his first name, at least.

Glass made five 3-pointers against Prairie View, the second consecutive game he's achieved that feat. He also made five on Nov. 10 in a victory against Memphis. He finished this game with a team-high 19 points and added four assists for good measure.

"He's a dog," Vanderbilt forward Chandler Bing said.

Glass is averaging a team-best 17.5 points per game.

Chandler Bing brings it on defense

Speaking of dogs, Bing showed some bite of his own. His box score line of 15 points, four rebounds and four assists hardly told the story of the real impact he made against the Panthers.

Byington was more impressed with Bing's play on defense, his one steal and one blocked shot in the box score notwithstanding.

"When I took out Chandler Bing, our team dropped," Byington said. "His defense, intensity. He wasn't getting the steals, but he was the one forcing them into the problems.

"He played the right way, played at a high level."

Tyler Tanner still standing out for Vanderbilt

Which leads to a third certainty: Tyler Tanner.

Tanner, who is second on the team with 17 points per game, had five of the Commodores' 10 steals. He also had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists.

In other words, Tyler Tanner was being Tyler Tanner.

"Tyler Tanner had his spurts," Byington said.

Who does Vanderbilt basketball play next?

Vanderbilt's next game is at home Nov. 17 against Eastern Illinois.

Paul Skrbina is a sports enterprise reporter covering the Predators, Titans, Nashville SC, local colleges and local sports for The Tennessean. Reach him at pskrbina@tennessean.com and on the X platform (formerly known as Twitter) @paulskrbina.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Vanderbilt basketball still 'a work in progress,' according to coach Mark Byington