BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — Alabama didn’t slow down even with a scoreless night from star Mark Sears.
The preseason All-American guard watched much of the second half from the bench as the eighth-ranked Crimson Tide held off No. 25 Illinois 100-87 on Wednesday night. His teammates like Labaron Philon and Aden Holloway were doing just fine on their own.
Triple digits points with zero from Sears was a statement in itself for a team that he led to the Final Four last season. The preseason Southeastern Conference player of the year was a cheerleader after exiting with 11:27 left.
“He was great on the bench,” Tide coach Nate Oats said. “He was struggling. There’s a lot of pressure on him obviously being a home state kid that came back. Preseason player of the year. He’s trying to do well. Teams are gearing their defenses toward him.
“I took him out to kind of let him get his head together a little bit. I tried to put him back in and he just said, ‘Look, they’re playing well.’”
Sears took five shots and missed them all in 21 minutes. Four were from 3-point range. It was an anomaly for a player who returned to the Tide to chase a national title instead of turning pro and came in averaging 17.3 points.
But it also showcased the ability of teammates like Philon and Holloway to pick up his slack. Holloway, an Auburn transfer, scored 18. Prized freshman Philon had 16 points, nine assists and seven rebounds.
Sears, who was just 5-of-15 shooting in a loss to No. 6 Purdue, hadn’t been held scoreless at Alabama.
“I thought they should have won at Purdue when he didn’t play very good,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “He’s in a position on the scouting report where everybody’s going to pay attention. He’s at the top of it. He’s the head of the snake. Everybody said he’s a first-team All-American. He’s a really, really good player.”
But Underwood raved about Philon, predicting he won’t be in an Alabama uniform for long before heading to the NBA.
“Philon showed why he’s a pro and moving up everybody’s draft boards,” the Illinois coach said. “That’s a bad boy right there.”
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