With Mark Sears on the bench for the entire second half, the Crimson Tide squeaked past the Tigers to remain in the hunt for the SEC title.

Asked why Mark Sears sat out in the second half of Saturday's win vs. LSU, Alabama coach Nate Oats said: "We played the guys that we thought gave us the best chance to win in the second half."

LSU men's basketball fell 80-73 to No.4 Alabama but put forth an effort that proved its toughness and that it can play well against anybody.

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?

After Alabama basketball's defense fell apart in the second half against Vanderbilt, the Crimson Tide isn't overlooking sharp-shooting Cam Carter.

It wasn’t always pretty, but Alabama basketball pulled away from LSU late in the second half on Saturday to beat the Tigers 8-73 at Coleman Coliseum. The win moved the Crimson Tide to 17-3 on the season,

If you took a quick scan of the box score after Alabama’s 80-73 win over the LSU Tigers on Saturday night, the first thing you’d likely notice is that high-scoring All-American guard Mark Sears was held scoreless in just 17 minutes of action.

Alabama basketball star guard Mark Sears was benched in the second half of the Crimson Tide's win over LSU. Here's what coach Nate Oats said about it.

When Alabama basketball came out for the second half of Saturday’s win over LSU, regular starting point guard Mark Sears wasn’t on the floor. The Muscle Shoals native did not appear in the entire second half, during which the Crimson Tide pulled off a 80-73 victory after the game was tied at 40 entering halftime.

No. 4 Alabama men's basketball outlasted LSU xx-xx on Saturday. The Crimson Tide put together a strong second half to pull away with the victo