Mark Sears to start at Mississippi State after being benched
After his second-half benching against LSU, Mark Sears was back in Alabama basketball’s starting lineup at Mississippi State on Wednesday. The lineups were posted shortly before tip in Starkville.
The move to return Sears to the court came after Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said Tuesday that the Muscle Shoals native had an excellent few practices before the game.
“I think he’s had the best two days of practice leading into a game since, probably he’s been here,” Oats told reporters Tuesday. “We kind of poll our guys on who – we have them grade themselves as a team in various categories after practice. I picked this up when I went to (Dallas Mavericks) training camp a couple years ago, I thought it was good and we’ve been doing it with our guys. We have them vote a practice MVP.
“Cliff (Omoruyi) and Mark, between the two of them, had every vote for practice MVP (Monday). So not only did I think he had a great practice, his teammates thought he had a great practice. I thought he repeated it with another great practice (Tuesday).
Alabama beat LSU Saturday despite Sears’ second half absence. The guard appeared heated on the bench at times during the final 20 minutes.
After that game, Oats said he was looking for more defensive intensity. He later said he considered holding Omoruyi out as well, though he played the center and praised his effort later in the game.
“We went with the guys in the second half (who) we thought gave us the best chance to win this game,” Oats said. “And we won the game and our defense was significantly better than the first half. And we haven’t done that very often this year, so that’s all I’m going to say about that stuff.”
Alabama and Mississippi State are set to tip off at 8 p.m. CT Wednesday in Starkville. The game will be aired on the SEC Network.