Alabama guard Mark Sears, who had been leading the team and the Southeastern Conference in scoring, was unable to score in Saturday night’s game against LSU. He spent the entire second half on the bench as the Crimson Tide secured an 80-73 victory.
“We played the guys that we thought gave us the best chance to win in the second half,” explained Alabama coach Nate Oats.
Sears, a preseason All-American with an average of 19 points per game, went 0-for-5 from the field with three rebounds, three assists, and two turnovers.
Oats attributed lineup changes to defensive consistency, especially in the second half.
“I didn’t think our second-half defense has been very good lately, so we made a conscious effort to change things up,” said Oats. “Our defense improved significantly in the second half compared to the first half, which is something we haven’t seen much of this year.”
Reporting by The Associated Press.
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