Almost exactly a decade ago, a seventh-grader sat in the nosebleeds at Coleman Coliseum taking in his first ever Alabama men’s basketball game.
He woke up one January 2015 day and made the trip from Muscle Shoals to Tuscaloosa. The Crimson Tide was playing Kentucky, and his friend had an extra ticket.
Mark Sears got his first taste of Alabama basketball that day.
Fast forward to Saturday, and he wasn’t in the nosebleeds of Coleman Coliseum anymore. He was on the court, scoring bucket after bucket, making the Kentucky defense bleed.
Saturday’s game, which No. 4 Alabama won 96-83 over the No. 17 Wildcats, wasn’t the first Sears played against Kentucky. It also wasn’t the first time he played the Wildcats in Tuscaloosa (Sears scored 16 points two years ago in that matchup).
But this year, Sears was the main character. The best player on the court, dominating Kentucky a long way from the seat in which he first watched Alabama a decade prior. The place from where he saw Kentucky dominate Alabama in 2015. Then Saturday, Sears returned the favor.
He scored a game-high 30 points, making all 11 of his free-throw attempts, while grabbing four rebounds, four assists and two steals.
“Sears is playing the best basketball I’ve seen him play since he’s been here on both sides of the ball,” Alabama coach Nate Oats said.
One second-half possession served as a microcosm. Right after grabbing a steal, Sears turned around and hit a 3-pointer. That gave him his 30th point on the day. There was also a series of possessions in the first half where Sears made a 3-pointer, made a layup, then drew a charge on defense.
The performance against Kentucky marked back-to-back 30-plus-point games for Sears, specifically against ranked opponents. He also scored 35 against Missouri this week.
“He just wants to win,” Oats said. “He came back to try to win a national championship. He came back to try to play his way into the NBA. Winning solves a lot of that stuff.”
Win the NCAA tournament, and Sears would add a national championship banner to the rafters. It could go right next to the one from the 2024 Final Four.
