At halftime Saturday night, Alabama Basketball and LSU were tied 40-40. The Bengal Tigers had 23 rebounds at the break, 13 of which were offensive rebounds. Alabama had 12 boards with five offensive rebounds. LSU had 22 points in the paint to 15 for the Crimson Tide and 13 points off turnovers compared to five points off turnovers for Alabama.
LSU did not have a sizable halftime lead because the Bengal Tigers made only 14.3% of first-half threes. It was clear if LSU started making more threes and nothing else changed, Alabama was in big trouble.
At halftime, Mark Sears had zero points. Nate Oats decided to sit Sears in the second half, not because of his zero points but because Oats and his staff believed an Alabama five without Sears could perform better defensively. Oats also did not start Clifford Omoruyi in the second half, though Omoruyi did return and played tough defense in the second half. Omoruiyi ended up winning Alabama's Hard Hat award against the Bengal Tigers.
Nate Oats' post-game comments did not specifically mention Mark Sears. Check out the video snippet below.
Though he wouldn't directly address why Mark Sears didn't play in the second half, Alabama head coach Nate Oats said the team was playing to win.
— Max Cohan (@MaxCohan) January 26, 2025
"We went with the guys in the second half that [we] thought gave us the best chance to win this game. And we won the game."
(📹:… pic.twitter.com/QFVP23KAOD
Oats was clear that the win over LSU was the result of the Crimson Tide's second-half defense.
A visibly disappointed Mark Sears could be seen on the Alabama bench. Some Alabama fans quickly jumped to negative conclusions either about Sears or about the decision by Nate Oats. The reality is coaches must make hard decisions and if a team's most-heralded player is not performing his job, he cannot be excused. Doing so could negatively the playing attitude of other players. All players on a roster must be held to the same high standard or no team will prosper.
Better defense from Alabama Basketball
Alabama cannot be a championship contender this season without consistently better defense. What Oats did Saturday night worked. Hopefully, such boldness will not be needed again this season. There is also no reason to believe that Mark Sears will not respond positively as the team leader he has always been for the Crimson Tide.
Next up for the Alabama Crimson Tide in Mississippi State in Starkville on Wednesday night. Mark Sears will be needed.