Mark Sears' mother, Lameka, cleared the air after sending Alabama basketball fans in a spiral with comments made on social media following LSU.

How do you bench your best scorer, someone who led you to the Final Four? The post What Happened to Mark Sears? Breaking Down Alabama's Puzzling 2nd Half Call appeared first on EssentiallySports.

Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats praised Mark Sears' response after he was benched against LSU, but did not say whether he would start at Mississippi State.

Nate Oats still hasn't locked in Alabama basketball's starting five for Mississippi State. Will Mark Sears be in it after getting benched against LSU?

Alabama coach Nate Oats sent a message with the benching of star Mark Sears. Here's what Oats said of his decision to bench Sears vs. LSU:

Mark Sears was benched over the weekend against LSU, but he bounced back nicely against Mississippi State.

The conversation kicks off by acknowledging Alabama's 80-73 win over LSU. The Crimson Tide were surprised on the glass and out rebounded by the Tigers, which kept the visitors in the game. Alabama turned up the second half defense and made sure the game went in their favor. How important was it to protect home court?

No. 4 Alabama pulled away from LSU on Saturday night in the second half for an 80-73 win without the services of the SEC's leading scorer entering the weekend, Mark Sears, who logged zero minutes over the game's second half after leading the team with 17 first-half minutes.

No. 4 Alabama takes on the Georgia Bulldogs after Chris Youngblood scored 23 points in Alabama's 88-84 win against the Mississippi State Bulldogs. Saturday's matchup is the first of the season between the two teams.

For multiple years now, the Alabama basketball program has been lauded for NBA-style offense which sets up players to develop into professional players. Under Nate Oats, a growing number of players have successfully made the leap.

Chris Youngblood had a season-high 23 points, including two free throws with 10.9 seconds remaining, to lead No. 4 Alabama to an 88-84 win over No. 14 Mississippi State.