Nate Oats analyzes play of Mark Sears vs. Arkansas

Somehow, someway, the Arkansas Razorbacks held Alabama freshman phenom Brandon Miller to ZERO shot attempts in the first half of their game on Wednesday evening. Miller is roundly regarded as the top freshman and one of the top players in all of college ball, averaging over 18 points a game as a 6-foot-9 athletic mismatch who can also turn into Buddy Hield for a few possessions at a time. But the Hogs were able to shut him down entirely in the first half of their game vs. ‘Bama.

Crimson Tide fans can thank the heavens for junior point guard Mark Sears, who came through to carry the offensive load for Nate Oats’ group against Arkansas, especially in that first half. With Miller a no-show in the first 20 minutes and facing tenacious face-guarded defense all night from Razorback guard Devo Davis, Sears had to initiate most of the offense against an elite Hogs defensive unit.

He thrived, racking up 26 points and three assists while shooting 10-10 from the free throw line. Simply put: Mark Sears loaded the Crimson Tide onto his back and carried them to a 15-point victory. He was the best player on the floor that night and it wasn’t even close.

“We needed somebody to score it. Those two are our two leading scorers (Sears and Miller), and he always comes ready to play,” said Nate Oats of Sears after the game. With Miller having an off night, the team needed Sears to come through and he did just that and much more.

Nate Oats on Mark Sears’ performance vs. Arkansas

While the scoring and playmaking were excellent from Mark Sears, Oats doesn’t want to gloss over the defensive impact he had as well. Per the Tide’s head coach, the veteran point guard was great on offense and defense. He certainly brought a level of confidence that few other ‘Bama players had that night.

“I think his defense has gotten much, much better here recently. But offensively, man, we needed somebody to score the ball, and he was scoring it for us. They kind of sagged some guys and didn’t play some a few guys that were not shooting well. But Sears can make shots, we needed him to shoot it and he got downhill and scored the ball and got fouled.”

What’s the old adage about college hoops? You win in March with guard play. Mark Sears is showing he’s capable of being that backcourt ring leader.