Mark Sears Goes Toe-to-Toe with Zach Edey in Entertaining Battle Across the Border
Under Nate Oats, Alabama seems to play some of its best basketball against the top programs in the country. On Saturday, the Crimson Tide led for the first 30 minutes against the fourth-ranked team in the country.
Purdue entered the season at No. 1. The Boilermakers (9-1) have the reigning Naismith Player of the Year in 7-foot-4 forward Zach Edey. Edey was unstoppable on Saturday in his Toronto homecoming, finishing with 35 points and seven rebounds.
"Zach Edey's the leading candidate for national player of the year — you can see why, he's a tough cover," Oats said. "We didn't do a terrible job on him and he had 35 points, so he makes things difficult. You've gotta figure out what you're gonna do."
Edey wasn't the only player to score 35 points. Alabama guard Mark Sears did the same, shooting 13-for-25 from the floor and an impressive 8-for-16 from 3-point range.
Sears did everything in his power to keep the Crimson Tide (6-3) in the game throughout, however, only two other scored in double figures.
"Sears has played in these big games," Oats said. "He's got the advantage a little bit — he played in a lot of big games last year. He played well. He was ready to go."
"We needed him to play well. We needed him to carry us on offense a little bit tonight and he did."
Last year, Sears was just a contributor on a very good offensive team that included the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Brandon Miller. Now, Sears is Alabama's top offensive weapon — and he's looking every bit the part so far this season.
He has scored 20+ points in five games already this season, including the career-high 35 points he scored on the Boilermakers on Saturday.
"Offensively, he's playing a lot more on the ball," Oats said. "Point guard, getting downhill a little bit more, attacking, being pretty aggressive. He did that a little bit last year, too, but taking more of a scoring role for us."
"Defensively, I thought he was great in the Oregon game, and he was a lot better this game. We need great games out of him every game, and he's showing he's capable of it. We gotta get it for every possession of every game he's in."
