Alabama guard Mark Sears has endured a topsy-turvy season in which he twice was held scoreless and was benched for the entire second half in the more recent blanking.
But lately he has played like someone in his fifth college season. Sears will look for his third straight 30-point outing when the No. 6 Crimson Tide battle No. 24 Mississippi State in Southeastern Conference play on Tuesday night at Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Sears scored a season-best 35 points in a 110-98 loss to then-No. 15 Missouri last Wednesday before following up with 30 points during Saturday’s 96-83 victory over then-No. 17 Kentucky.
The outing against the Wildcats helped the Crimson Tide (22-5, 11-3 SEC) halt a two-game losing streak.
“My teammates found me in the right places and I was able to put the ball into the basket,” Sears said of his performance.
Sears averaged a career-best 21.5 points and had stellar career-high shooting marks of 50.8 percent from the field and 43.6 percent from 3-point range last season. His numbers this season sit at 18.9 points, 41.2 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from behind the arc.
After being benched on Jan. 25 during an 80-73 victory over LSU, Sears was heavily criticized for his lackadaisical defense by Alabama coach Nate Oats.
Sears received the message loud and clear and picked up his defensive effort. And how he has put together the first back-to-back 30-point efforts of his career, which began with two seasons at Ohio before three with the Crimson Tide.
“Sears is playing the best basketball I’ve seen him play since he’s been here, on both sides of the ball,” Oats said after the Kentucky game. “I think he just wants to win. He came back to try to win a national championship.
“… He’s trying to play the right way. He’s as coachable as he’s ever been and his effort on defense has been through the roof really the last three or four weeks.”
Aden Holloway added 19 points against Kentucky as the Crimson Tide prevailed despite allowing 80 points for the eighth time in the past 10 games.
Mississippi State (19-8, 7-7) is coming off a 93-87 road loss to Oklahoma and has won just five of its last 12 games.
The Bulldogs saw their defense evaporate in the second half by giving up 59 points to the Sooners, who shot a scorching 68 percent (17 of 25) after halftime.
“We couldn’t guard them in the second half,” Mississippi State coach Chris Jans said. “We switched coverages multiple times to try to screw them up, and they did a good job of attacking us. They had a plan, and we tried to disrupt that plan and do different coverages, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. That’s the bottom line. That’s the story.”
Josh Hubbard, who averages 17.9 points per game, scored 19 points for the Bulldogs and he knocked down four 3-pointers. He also set a school record by knocking down at least one 3-pointer in his 40th consecutive game. Darryl Wilson, who played at Mississippi State from 1993-96, held the old mark of 39.
Hubbard was spectacular with a career-best 38 points while making six 3-pointers when Mississippi State dropped an 88-84 home decision against Alabama on Jan. 29. Chris Youngblood established a season best of 23 points and made a career-high seven treys for the Crimson Tide.
Now Jans will try to get his team refocused after the rough loss at Oklahoma.
“I thought maybe we were on our way to being a great team and having this great momentum,” Jans said. “We definitely took a step backward.”
The Bulldogs are 0-6 against Alabama during Jans’ three seasons as coach. Overall, Mississippi State has lost the last seven meetings.
–Field Level Media
