Tag: mark sears

Who is Mark Sears? Meet Alabama’s electric Elite Eight hero

Meet Mark Sears, Alabama’s electric Elite Eight hero.

When Alabama needed a spark in its Elite Eight game against Clemson on Saturday night, it found one in senior guard Mark Sears.

Sears played a huge role in helping Alabama men’s basketball reach its first Final Four in school history after its 89-82 Elite Eight victory over the Tigers.

The Muscle Shoals, Alabama, native played started his career with the Ohio University Bobcats in 2020 and played two seasons there. He then joined the Crimson Tide in 2022 and turned into a key member of its starting lineup.

Why Mark Sears’ mom Lameka mimes shooting free throws with Alabama guard

He’s now one of Alabama’s 2024 March Madness heroes for its first Final Four run. During the team’s Sweet 16 victory over North Carolina, Sears set Alabama’s single-season record for points scored by a player.

While playing Clemson, Sears nailed a staggering seven 3-point shots when his team needed them the most.

One of those came from a mid-court logo in the second half that wowed everyone in attendance for Saturday’s game at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. 

He even hit a massive 3-pointer in the game’s final stretch to help the Crimson Tide inch further away from the Tigers for the victory. He scored 23 points in total during the win.

As the Crimson Tide try to keep this hot streak alive against UConn next weekend, the team will need more stellar play from Sears beyond the arc.

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Alabama’s Mark Sears deserves to be in March Madness MVP conversation thus far

Alabama guard Mark Sears has been the Tide’s strongest player in March Madness and should enter the Sweet 16 in the Tournament MVP conversation.

Alabama basketball has made it to the Sweet 16, where they will face the top-seeded North Carolina Tar Heels. One player has led the team through two impressive tournament games and is being praised as a possible March Madness MVP candidate to this point.

Crimson Tide guard Mark Sears has been a team leader all season long and is now viewed as the team’s biggest impact player (subscription required), according to ESPN college basketball analyst John Gasaway.

“If you were picking a most valuable player of the tournament so far, Sears would definitely be in the conversation,” writes Gasaway. “Averaging 28 points over two games is partly a function of Alabama’s fast pace, but Sears has been valuable beyond scoring. When the Crimson Tide were in trouble against Grand Canyon, the senior responded with 12 rebounds, six assists and three steals.”

As a veteran, Sears’s performance on the court has been extremely valuable, but his leadership has also played a large role in the team’s success.

Heading into the 2023-2024 college basketball season, many fans were worried about Alabama’s ability to maintain the competitiveness that it held in recent seasons under Nate Oats. With high roster turnover and a completely new coaching staff, the odds were stacked against the Crimson Tide.

Led by Sears, the team was in contention to win the SEC up until the last few games and they have since been able to adapt to their opponents and be victorious through two rounds of the March Madness Tournament.

As the team prepares to take on North Carolina, it’s expected that the offense will, once again, run through Sears.

“Collectively, Alabama has attacked the paint often enough to post the healthiest tournament free throw rate of any Sweet 16 squad,” writes Gasaway. “The always formidable Crimson Tide offense is in full stride with Sears as the featured scorer.”

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama basketball as the NCAA Tournament rolls on.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

Charles Barkley calls Grand Canyon’s game against Alabama ‘One of the dumbest I’ve ever seen’

Charles Barkley’s hilarious reaction to Grand Canyon’s “Dumbest basketball game he’s ever seen” vs. Alabama

There was a huge sigh of relief from the Alabama faithful Sunday evening as they secured an 11-point victory over Grand Canyon University to advance to the Sweet 16. The other feeling was one of ‘what in the world did I just watch?’

Granted it was not the prettiest game Alabama has ever played, Grand Canyon just played a game of pure chaos for two hours. With only five assists in the entire 40-minute game, it was like the Antelopes came down the court and just wanted to go one-on-one every possession with no control or composure. Grand Canyon also shot just 2/20 from three, turned the ball over 14 times and missed 14 free throws. There was just no rhythm about their offense and it was truly the most bizarre thing I have seen on the basketball court.

Auburn legend and March Madness personality [autotag]Charles Barkley[/autotag] was hilariously beside himself after watching Grand Canyon play the dumbest game of basketball he has also ever seen. Barkley said of the game, “I’m not sure what they were doing offensively, I don’t think they ran a play in the entire second half… That was some of the dumbest basketball I’ve ever seen grown college men play. [autotag]Mark Sears[/autotag] was the only guy who played with complete composure the entire game. Congratulations to Alabama University it’s a great school and [autotag]Nate Oats[/autotag] does a great job.”

The Tide will be back in action Thursday evening when they take on the No. 1 seeded North Carolina Tar Heels in the Sweet 16. Alabama enters the contest as a 4.5-point underdog.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

PHOTO GALLERY: Top images from Alabama’s win over Grand Canyon

Relive the excitement from Alabama’s Round of 32 win over Grand Canyon with the top photos from the game!

Alabama basketball took down Grand Canyon in a low-scoring thriller that grabbed the nation’s attention. The four-seed Crimson Tide battled to the very end to defeat the No. 12-seeded ‘Lopes and advance to the Sweet Sixteen.

Mark Sears, once again, took charge of the team and led Alabama in scoring and rebounds. His leadership has boosted the Tide all season long and is now helping them in a deep March Madness tournament run.

Up next for head coach Nate oats and his team is the top-seeded UNC Tar Heels in the West Region. An upset win in Los Angeles would take the Tide to the Elite Eight.

Before looking ahead, however, relive the excitement from Alabama’s most recent win over Grand Canyons with the top images from the contest.

Alabama takes down Grand Canyon in low-scoring thriller, advances to Sweet 16

Despite it being a lot closer than many anticipated, Alabama defeats Grand Canyon and moves on to the Sweet 16.

No. 4 seed Alabama makes it out of the Round 32 after defeating No. 12 seed Grand Canyon University with a final score of 72-61. This will be the Crimson Tide’s second consecutive trip to the Sweet 16.

Now, Nate Oats and his team will take on the top-seeded UNC Tar Heels for a trip to the Elite Eight.

Though many fans had things to say about the officiating of the game, the Crimson Tide players came out ready to play a style of ball they weren’t all too comfortable with. It wasn’t a fast-paced, high-scoring affair. It ended up being a physical battle at the rim, with Alabama’s ability to shoot the three being one of the biggest difference makers.

It should not come as a surprise that Mark Sears led the Tide in scoring with 26 points, but he also had a team-high 12 rebounds.

The biggest storyline to follow ahead of playing UNC will be the health of Latrell Wrightsell, who suffered a head injury early in the first half and was ruled out after being taken to the locker room.

Roll Tide Wire will continue to follow Alabama basketball as the team looks to continue its March Madness run.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on X, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow AJ Spurr on X @SpurrFM. 

PHOTO GALLERY: Alabama takes down Charleston in Round of 64

Alabama basketball advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament after defeating Charleston. Relive the excitement through the top photos from the game.

No. 4 seed Alabama basketball had no issues in taking down 13-seed College of Charleston in the first round of March Madness. The Crimson Tide did manage to give up 96 points, which should present some worries regarding the defense, the offense put up a whopping 109 points.

Mark Sears was, once again, the star of the show as he put up a total of 30 points of his own.

Now, the Crimson Tide takes on No. 12 seed Grand Canyon, which upset the No. 5 St. Mary’s squad. This will be an interesting matchup as the pace of play between both teams could cause some hiccups for both rosters.

Before looking ahead, relive the excitement from the Crimson Tide’s win over the College of Charleston with the top images from the game.

Alabama’s Mark Sears named second-team All-American by Sporting News

Mark Sears named Second-team All-American by Sporting News

In a season that has been filled with ups and downs, point guard [autotag]Mark Sears[/autotag] has been the one constant for the Alabama Crimson Tide. In his second year in Nate Oats’s program, he has taken a massive step forward averaging 21.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg and 4.1 apg – all increased from a year ago. He is also a much more efficient shooter now as he is knocking down 50.4% of all field goals, shooting 43.1% from beyond the arc and shooting 86.1% from the charity stripe.

It is still very unclear whether or not Sears will return to college or turn pro next year, but if he decides to leave Tuscaloosa then he goes out with a bang. Sears was voted first-team All-SEC earlier in the week and even received a vote for AP SEC player of the years. Sporting News also honored Sears by naming him as a second-team All-American.

Sears was able to lead Alabama to a second place finish in the SEC regular season despite losing 10 teammates from a year ago as well as his entire coaching staff minus Oats. However, Alabama and Sears will need to rebound after being knocked out of the SEC Tournament quarterfinals by Florida as they take on 13-seeded Charleston on Friday in the NCAA Tournament.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Alabama hoops eliminated from SEC Tournament by the Florida Gators

Florida eliminates Alabama hoops from the SEC Tournament

The end-of-the-season slide continues for the Alabama Crimson Tide as they got smoked by the Florida Gators in the quarterfinals of the SEC Tournament Friday evening. Things looked great for Alabama as they raced out to an eight-point lead in the first three minutes of the game and led 31-27 with 5:50 to go in the first half. Unfortunately, it was all Florida from there as they went on a massive 17-0 run and never looked back.

While the scoreboard shows Florida won 102-88, the game was never really that close. The Tide’s lack of intensity on the defensive side of the ball was once again the killer in the evening. [autotag]Mark Sears[/autotag] and [autotag]Aaron Estrada[/autotag] had decent nights, but outside of them, it was a rather poor showing all around. With Kentucky, Tennessee and South Carolina all losing today, the path to the SEC Championship was wide open and it feels like Alabama may have wasted a golden ticket.

Selection Sunday is less than 48 hours away so it will be exciting to see where the Tide end up, but it doesn’t feel like this is a year where they will be making a deep run. On the bright side, [autotag]Nate Oats[/autotag] agreed to a long-term extension today and he will be in Tuscaloosa for the foreseeable future.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Florida basketball steamrolls a reeling Alabama team 105-87

Alabama basketball drops third contest in past four games

Unfortunately, the slide for the Alabama Crimson Tide basketball team continues as they just dropped their third game in the past four contests. After a gut-wrenching loss against Tennessee on Saturday, which was a defacto SEC Championship game, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that the Tide came out flat against a very good Florida team as they got thumped 105-87.

The Alabama defense continues to be one of the poorer sides in the country as they allowed their ninth 100-point game this season. Florida entered the contest with added motivation after blowing the game back in Tuscaloosa a few weeks ago and they played with a certain level of anger all evening long.

[autotag]Mark Sears[/autotag] had another phenomenal night as he poured in 33 points, but it just never felt like Alabama was in real striking distance at any point of the game. The Crimson Tide will close out the regular season on Sunday in Tuscaloosa against Arkansas.

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Alabama’s Mark Sears named finalist for Bob Cousy Award

Alabama’s Mark Sears named finalist for nation’s top point guard

Announced on Monday afternoon, Alabama’s Mark Sears has been named a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award, which is presented to the top point guard in college basketball annually.

In addition to Sears, the other finalists for the award were UConn’s Tristen Newton, Marquette’s Tyler Kolek, Purdue’s Braden Smith, and Houston’s Jamal Shead.

Sears, who is the conversation for the 2023-24 SEC Player of the Year, is leading Alabama in scoring so far this season at 20.7 PPG, ranking No. 1 in the SEC at the time of writing, as well as No. 20 nationally. Starting in all 29 of the Crimson Tide’s games, Sears is also averaging 4.2 RPG, 4.2 APG, and 1.8 SPG, as well as shooting 51% from the field, 43.3% from three, and 86.3% from the free throw line.

The SEC has not seen a player win the Bob Cousy Award since the 2015-16 season, when Kentucky’s Tyler Ulis took home the honor. Ulis is also the lone player from the SEC to ever win the Bob Cousy Award.