Vanderbilt coach Jerry Stackhouse was promptly ejected during the second half of Wednesday's 70-65 loss to VCU, blowing such a gasket that it required restraint from both his coaching staff and police on hand as frustrations boiled over on the court.

Stackhouse was irate after big man Liam Robbins of Vanderbilt earned a technical on the court, so he one-upped his player by picking up two technical fouls of his own in rapid succession to earn the auto-ejection. The scene quickly escalated from there as he charged towards the officials and gave them an earful about it before being escorted to the locker room.

Stackhouse's ejection came after Robbins dunked on a VCU player and celebrated by tapping on his head, moving Vandy to within three at the time (54-51). Making matters worse, Vanderbilt's effort fell short without its coach at the end. 

Stackhouse was a splashy hire in 2019 -- the former North Carolina star had extensive experience coaching with success in the NBA after twice earning All-Star honors as a player -- but he has yet to fully turn things around in Nashville. He registered his first winning season last year as the Commodores went 19-17, but they are now 3-4 on the season and 42-58 in his three-plus years leading the program. 

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Vanderbilt is among the most challenging gigs in the country at the power conference level, and progress in the SEC can feel like a step back given how loaded the top of the league is. Still, Stackhouse is in the midst of an important fourth season, and a squandered chance to steal a road win over a talented VCU team -- while stewing in the locker room -- isn't a great look in what may be a pivotal year for him in his tenure with the Commodores.