Grant Nelson got an inkling Wednesday. He could sense the Mark Sears takeover brewing.
The day before facing BYU, Alabama held its shootaround in Newark, N.J. Everyone was getting shots up, but Sears stood out. Nelson thinks Sears hit 20 consecutive three-pointers or so.
“It might have been more than that,” Nelson said.
Nelson didn’t know the exact number, but he knew what was coming. Nelson could foresee the avalanche coming for the Cougars.
BYU would have to defend the version of Sears who’s darn near unstoppable. It didn’t go well. Sears found his deep shot again and crushed the Cougars, making 10 3-pointers in Alabama’s 113-88 victory over BYU in the Sweet 16.
Sears fell only one 3-pointer shy of the NCAA Tournament record for an individual in one game. Meanwhile, Alabama made a program and NCAA Tournament record 25 triples.
“It feels good, especially for a team that people said we couldn’t really shoot the three at a high level,” Sears said. “For us to go out and prove them wrong, it just shows the resiliency, the hard work and dedication we put into the game.”
Sears, specifically, had not been shooting well. Whatsoever. And that’s an understatement. Sears entered Thursday 2 for 21 from beyond the arc in postseason play. That’s a measly 9.52%.
Sears’ inability to make 3-pointers didn’t stop Alabama from winning, but it still was concerning from the Crimson Tide’s best player, the first-team All-American, when it’s win or go home time.
Yet Sears didn’t panic.
“Yeah, to me, that hasn’t been a concern,” the guard said Wednesday. “I’m going to just keep being me. I put in the work, and I’m going to keep shooting, and know my teammates are going to do a great job of finding me when I’m open. But no, no concern here.”
Then, Sears shook off a few weeks of shooting struggles and turned in a historic performance. He ignored the mounting criticism.
You could say he took that personally.
“I hear a lot of things,” Sears said. “Social media, people come and tag you. You just use it as motivation.”
He’s not going to hit 10 3-pointers every game. That would be an unrealistic ask, of course. And frankly, Alabama doesn’t need that from him every game. What it does need: Sears making big shots in big moments.
That’s what fueled Alabama’s Final Four run in 2024. Maybe it does again this year.
The problem is, Duke stands in the way.
The Blue Devils, the No. 5 team in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency, will not allow near as much as BYU. That will make life more difficult for the Crimson Tide, but that’s no reason to count out Alabama.
“When we have our three-game clicking,” Sears said, “it’s going to be hard for teams to stop us.”
When Sears has his three-game clicking, as it finally did again Thursday for the first time in a while, teams are going to have trouble stopping him, and Alabama.
BYU learned the hard way.
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for Follow him on X and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
