Mark Sears lights up BYU with 3-point outburst: Fans, media react

Mark Sears has been in the biggest moments imaginable during his 3 seasons at Alabama, helping the Crimson Tide blossom into a national title contender.

But Sears and the Tide have fallen short the past 2 years, falling in the Sweet 16 in 2023 and in their first Final Four appearance last year. Maybe the third time will be the charm for Sears at Alabama, and he’s certainly on a mission to make that a reality.

After helping the Crimson Tide into yet another Sweet 16 last weekend, the 6-foot-1 senior first-team All-American from Muscle Shoals, Ala., made the Sweet 16 his stage on Thursday night against pesky 6-seed BYU. With second-seeded Alabama fighting to get to its second straight regional final, Sears put on a shooting display not seen often in the college game.

Channeling his inner Steph Curry, Sears had made 7 3-pointers as of midway through the second half, helping Bama to a 20-point lead in the East Region semifinal. Sears was a ridiculous 9-of-14 from 3-point territory, 10-of-16 from the field overall and had made both of his free-throw attempts. He had 31 points with still plenty of time to add to his total, and by the way also had 8 assists, 3 rebounds and 2 steals as Alabama closed in on a regional final berth on Saturday in Newark, N.J.

Here’s the best of the reaction to his big night:

Sears’ absurd shooting was all the rage on social media, naturally, and here is a sampling of the reaction to Sears’ sharp-shooting by fans and media:

Cory Nightingale

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.