Alabama star wants revenge vs Tennessee, other SEC teams

Alabama men’s basketball doesn’t have many losses on its SEC schedule this season, but it does have a few.

The Crimson Tide (23-6, 12-4 SEC) lost to Ole Miss at home Jan. 14, Auburn at home Feb. 15, Missouri on the road Feb. 19 and Tennessee on the road this past Saturday.

If it’s up to Mark Sears, Alabama will get a chance yet still this season to avenge those games.

“Hopefully we’ll be able to see all the teams we lost to again,” Sears said Tuesday.

The Alabama guard was answering a question Tuesday as to whether the Crimson Tide had watched the videos of Auburn players celebrating Alabama’s loss to Tennessee on a buzzer beater. By the Crimson Tide losing to Tennessee, Auburn became the sole winner of the SEC regular-season championship.

“We’ve still got the SEC Tournament, and we get to see Auburn,” Sears said. “We have Florida obviously. We can’t overlook them. But we still have Auburn for their senior night. We still get to see them and then hopefully in the SEC Tournament we’re able to see Tennessee and all the teams we lost to.”

The Vols loss especially stung, considering Alabama had a four-point lead with 36 seconds left. A series of mishaps from the Crimson Tide turned the game into a win for the Vols.

Before the revenge tour can begin, Sears and Alabama will have a shot to beat No. 5 Florida on Wednesday (6 p.m., ESPN 2) at Coleman Coliseum. Win that, and the Crimson Tide will lock up a double bye in the SEC Tournament.

Then, Alabama will have a chance to avenge its loss to No. 1 Auburn earlier in the season with a trip on Saturday (1:30 p.m., ESPN) to Neville Arena.

After that, the SEC Tournament bracket will be set and Sears will find out if there will be a chance for that revenge against either Tennessee, Ole Miss or Missouri after all.

Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.