What Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said about Nebraska and its fans

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No. 5-seeded Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington met with the media following his team's 78-68 victory over No. 12-seeded McNeese State. The victory was the first win in the NCAA Tournament for the Commodores since 2012. Now the Commodores prepare to face the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the second round.

Tyler Tanner led Vanderbilt with 26 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Duke Miles added 13 points and three assists. Vanderbilt shot 26-of-51 from the field, 9-of-24 from the 3-point line and 17-of-20 from the free throw line. McNeese State shot 25-of-69 from the floor, 9-of-26 from beyond the arc and 9-of-9 from the line.

Byington believes his team will play at a neutral site, but it will feel like a road game because of the Husker fans' presence in Oklahoma City.

Yeah, how lucky are we that we're going to play basically a road game in the NCAA Tournament? So much for a neutral site. First thing is, when I walked in, I really didn't see the crowd. I went straight to the locker room. Andy Katz told me that's the best opening crowd he's ever seen in all his history of NCAA Tournaments.

Vanderbilt will be looking to advance to its first Sweet Sixteen since 2007. Saturday's game will be the 8th meeting all-time between the Huskers and Commodores. Vanderbilt holds the series edge with a 5-2 advantage. Byington believes that his team's SEC pedigree will help with the hostile atmosphere on Saturday night.

In the SEC we're used to the chant of "Go Big Blue," and now we're going to hear "Go Big Red." We're going to be outnumbered 98%. It's going to be a true road game for us. I like the fact that we've had experience on the road. We played well on the road this year, but we're going to have to go in with that mentality. It's going to be every coach uses this. It's not a catchphrase. We're all we got. It's going to be us against the world.

No. 4-seeded Nebraska defeated No. 13-seeded Troy 76-47. The win was the first NCAA Tournament in Husker hoops history. The program entered Thursday's game with a 0-8 record all-time. The Huskers were led by Pryce Sandfort, who scored 23 points in the victory.

Nebraska and Vanderbilt will play on Saturday at 7:45 p.m. CT, and the game will be broadcast on TNT.

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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: What Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington said about Nebraska and its fans

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