Alabama basketball star guard Mark Sears was benched in the second half of the Crimson Tide's win over LSU. Here's what coach Nate Oats said about it.

What to make of Nate Oats sitting his best player Saturday on The Joe Gaither Show | Episode 360: Jan. 27, 2025.

Nate Oats and Mark Sears cleared the air after practice Tuesday in the aftermath of Sears' benching last Saturday against LSU.

When Alabama basketball came out for the second half of Saturday’s win over LSU, regular starting point guard Mark Sears wasn’t on the floor. The Muscle Shoals native did not appear in the entire second half, during which the Crimson Tide pulled off a 80-73 victory after the game was tied at 40 entering halftime.

As of Monday night, the team has a 17-3 record are sitting at No. 4 in the AP Top 25. With that being said, Oats still made a drastic decision in the team’s last game on Saturday. The coach opted to bench star guard Mark Sears for the 2nd half of the game against LSU.

Still, Alabama was just too much as the Crimson Tide's depth eventually wore LSU out, and an 8-0 run in the final four minutes ended any hope of an upset. Alabama is now 6-1 in SEC play and sitting right there with rival Auburn.

No. 4 Alabama men's basketball took down No. 14 Mississippi State 88-84 in a thriller on the road. Unlike most of Alabama's wins, this one w

Alabama basketball's Mark Sears wasn't the only one to have a bounce-back game as the Tide had a shootout with Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard.

Mark Sears was benched over the weekend against LSU, but he bounced back nicely against Mississippi State.

However, there are less difficult things to do than play a ranked Chris Jans team on the road in a midweek contest. Alabama head coach Nate Oats is aware of this, and he expects the No. 4 Crimson Tide (17-3,

The Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday, January 29th, at Humphrey Coliseum in this top-ranked college basketball matchup