Mark Sears will bounce back, but Alabama basketball's 3-point woes are worrisome

Graduate guard Mark Sears had the worst game of his Alabama basketball career against No. 25 Illinois on Wednesday night. 

The Crimson Tide did enough around him to cover up an 0-5 shooting night from the floor and 0-4 from outside the arc. In the past two games, Sears is just 1-10 from outside the arc and has lost his shot. 

But really there is no reason for the Crimson Tide to panic. Last season the second-team All-American got off to a slow start but it was hidden by the fact that he wasn’t taking a lot of threes.

Through the first five games of the year in the 2023-24 season, Sears had just 18 attempted 3’s connecting on 55% of shots. This season Sears has shot 24 threes with only seven makes for 29%, resembling the start he had to the 2022-23 season when he was 10-28 for 35%.

With any player, the more you shoot, the more you miss. While Sears hasn’t singlehandedly blown anyone away yet this season, before being shut out he had at least 15 points in every game to start the season. 

Part of Sears's problem may be that he is forcing shots. Alabama this season as a team is averaging just 9 made threes a frame shooting 30%. Last season the Crimson Tide averaged 11.2 and 37%. 

Sears forcing the ball more may also have something to do with Alabama’s struggles on the offensive glass. Against Illinois, the Tide only pulled down seven offensive boards and currently ranks 183 in the country in offensive rebounds, a category Alabama was 16th in last season. For Alabama, who likes to spread out the floor, offensive boards are a necessity.

If the Crimson Tide can find some of those offensive boards, it will force more teams to play inside and free up the perimeter. Making it easier on the three-point shooting game. Not only that but off of those second-chance opportunities, Alabama will be able to take and knock down more threes.

Sears’s struggles mask wider issues for this Alabama team shooting the three. For the team, only graduate guard Latrell Wrightsell has more than 10 made threes with 12, but he has taken 32 of them. The Auburn transfer Aden Holloway is a close second with eight makes on the year, but that number is largely helped by a 3-4 shooting night against Illinois. 

The final factor to consider that may be working against Sears is sample size. Alabama has only played five games of a 36-game regular season. Yes, he was held scoreless against Illinois, but he has had games where he has struggled in the past and bounced back. 

In the 2023-24 season, Sears had one game where he was held to less than 10 points, he responded to that game by dropping eight straight 20+ point performances while still struggling from three. In the three games following that 9-point night, Sears was just 2-13 from deep and still found his way to the bottom of the basket. 

Mark Sears had an unusually bad night. The first time he’s been shut out in his Alabama career, but the season is young. Wait for this Alabama team to pick up around him and I imagine the offense of Sears will come back quickly.