Adam Sparks

USA TODAY NETWORK – Tennessee

Vanderbilt athletic director David Williams is preaching patience when it comes to evaluating the job status of his basketball coaches, Kevin Stallings and Melanie Balcomb, but he said the length of their remaining contracts will not be a factor “either way.”

On Wednesday, Williams said, “You kind of wait until the end (of the season to evaluate coaches). People need to understand that you need to be fair in this. We have standards and we want to meet those standards, but at the same time, we always want to be fair in how we do it.”

Williams said he spent much of Wednesday morning taking calls and answering emails from frustrated fans after Vanderbilt’s men lost 75-74at Mississippi State Tuesday night, a loss that ultimately could keep the Commodores out of the NCAA Tournament. Criticism over Balcomb’s performance also has hovered over the women’s team, which has lost five straight games.

Vanderbilt squanders 17-point lead, falls at buzzer

Stallings’ men and Balcomb’s women both have 15 wins this season, and both have steadily slid away from the NCAA Tournament picture. But Williams said, “I don’t ever evaluate or make decisions when you still have a season to play. We have a month to a month-and-a-half of basketball left for both of them. … So I just say to the fan base, ‘We’ve got a season to finish. Let’s finish the season and see what happens.’”

The terms of Stallings’ and Balcomb’s contracts are not available to the public because Vanderbilt is a private university. Williams said he would not provide any of those terms, but he added that “the fact that there are existing contracts” would not be a factor “either way” in their future at Vanderbilt.

Williams said both coaches would be judged on their development of student-athletes on and off the court, their win-loss record and fan attendance, among other factors.

“They are all byproducts of how the decision needs to be made, as well as the whole body of work,” he said.

Stallings is Vanderbilt’s all-time winningest coach, posting a 328-217 record over 17 seasons. Balcomb is also the winningest coach in the history of the women’s program, with a 307-145 record in 14 seasons.

Stallings and Balcomb have been criticized by fans in varying degrees because of disappointing stretches this season. And for the men, much of the dissatisfaction has centered on a failure to meet high preseason expectations. But the frustration around both programs has peaked this week, with the growing possibility that both teams could miss the NCAA Tournament.

“But at Vanderbilt you’re not going to be hammered for one season,” Williams said. “We look at the total picture, trends of the program and how long trends last.”

Vanderbilt’s men (15-11, 7-6 SEC, 57 RPI) have not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2012. Their chances to go this season were greatly damaged Tuesday night when they blew a 17-point second-half lead and fell on a 3-pointer at the buzzer for their worst loss of the season.

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Vanderbilt’s men climbed as high as No. 13 in the USA Today Coaches poll in November and started the season 5-0, but they have posted a 10-11 record since. They still have opportunities to jump back into the potential NCAA Tournament at-large pool, with notable remaining games against Florida (RPI 31), Kentucky (13) and Texas A&M (26).

Vanderbilt’s women (15-10, 4-8 SEC, 71 RPI) made 15 straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2000-14), including 12 in a row under Balcomb. But that streak ended last season, when they also posted their first losing season since the 1998-99 campaign.

The women’s team started this season with a 15-5 record, but it has lost five straight games as the schedule has toughened. Like the men, the women still have opportunities to earn an NCAA Tournament at-large bid with three straight games against ranked opponents in No. 25 Florida, No. 12 Texas A&M and No. 13 Mississippi State over the next week.

“The best thing I can say is that we are constantly looking at what is going on, and we understand the expectations,” Williams said. “… We want the best for our student-athletes and our coaches and our fans, and I’m going to do the best I can to make sure we deliver that. I just say to the fan base, ‘We’ve got a season to finish.’ ”

Reach Adam Sparks at 615-259-8010 and on Twitter @AdamSparks.