Mark Sears Surges to Best Game of Season in Creighton Win

Alabama's veteran point guard had his best shooting night and highest scoring output of the season in the victory over the Bluejays.

Alabama guard Mark Sears (1) lays the ball up against Creighton at Coleman Coliseum in Tuscaloosa, AL on Saturday, Dec 14, 2024. / Alabama Athletics

TUSCALOOSA, Ala.—  Mark Sears came into the season as one of the most highly-touted players in the country on the preseason watchlist for almost every major individual awards in college basketball. But it's not always easy to live up to preseason hype.

Sears definitely was struggling to start out the year for the Crimson Tide, but he wasn't having the same level of success, especially from the floor and the three-point line, that he'd had the year before. But in Saturday night's 83-75 win over Creighton, the veteran Alabama point guard looked like his old self again, finishing with a season-high 27 points, six rebounds and four assists.

"He got really locked into just playing hard, playing the right way, doing the right things, and now all of a sudden he's got his best shooting night, highest scoring output, he's getting to the rim, makes free throws–– just lost himself in the game tonight playing the right way," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said after the game. "This is the best game we've seen out of him since the season started."

Sears finished 55 percent from the floor on 8-of-15 shooting. He made at least four 3-pointers for just the second time this season. Alabama's graduate point guard has been getting to the free throw line all season, but was having a lot more success finishing at the rim against the Bluejays while still shooting nearly 90 percent from the free throw line.

Oats said Sears has been "outstanding" in practice since before the North Carolina game, where he finished with 20 points. Sears ended up letting the Crimson Tide in blue collar points against Creighton. Oats advises the players to lose themselves in the game with their effort, and he doesn't think it's a coincidence that Sears had his best performance of the season when he was able to do that on Saturday night.

"He's just so shifty and can score in a lot of different ways," Creighton head coach Greg McDermott said about Sears. "He played like a vet, and he's a really, really good point guard."

Sears made sure to give the credit to his teammates for helping him get open and finding him when he was open. Then it was just up to him to hit the shots. He's leading Alabama through 10 games with 17.5 points per game.

Alabama (8-2) has now made it through the seven-game gauntlet of tough non-conference opponents. The Crimson Tide still has three non-conference games left, but all against much easier opponents with two of the games in the friendly confines of Coleman Coliseum.

But conference play is right around the corner, and the opening weeks of the college basketball season have proved just how tough and how deep the SEC is this year. There are no pushover teams, and Alabama will need Sears to continue to do what he does best if the Tide wants to win its third regular season title in the last five years. Oats is optimistic that Sears is back on the right track.

"Hopefully, this kind of gets him going here," Oats said.

Read more: No. 7 Alabama Basketball Beats Creighton Bluejays in Return To Coleman Coliseum

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