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Mark Sears becomes 1st SEC player ever to accomplish rare feat in win over No. 1 Auburn
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Mark Sears made a lasting memory in Alabama basketball history on Saturday, and he also made a little history for himself.
Sears’ buzzer-beater gave the 7th-ranked Crimson Tide a stunning 93-91 victory in overtime over No. 1 Auburn. The senior guard stunned the crowd on the Plains with his heroics. But even though the crowd was stunned, what Sears did on Saturday to the top-ranked team in the country shouldn’t be all that shocking.
Because the 6-foot-1 native of Muscle Shoals, Ala., has proven to be a giant killer during his time in Tuscaloosa. In leading the Crimson Tide to Saturday’s win, Sears became the first player in SEC history to win 3 games over AP top-ranked teams. This stat is according to the SEC Network.
Sears pulled off the feat twice during the 2022-23 season, his first at Alabama after transferring from Ohio. In fact, he led Alabama past top-ranked foes twice in a few short weeks early that season, helping the Crimson Tide beat No. 1 North Carolina on Nov. 27, 2022, then helping Alabama take down No. 1 Houston on Dec. 10, 2022.
Those were great victories, but Sears’s third time was the charm on Saturday, as it came against Alabama’s most hated rival, in its home arena, on the final day of the regular season.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
