Bama bests No. 1 Auburn at buzzer in OT thriller
AUBURN, Ala.– Mark Sears struck a game-winning floater as time expired as No. 7 Alabama ruined the home finale of rival and No. 1 Auburn with a 93-91 overtime road win Saturday.The off-balance buzzer-beater from the totally free toss line was just the third made basket of the game for Sears, who completed with 9 points. He’s the first player with a buzzer-beater to beat an AP No. 1 team because Ron Harper Jr.’s half-court shot to beat Purdue in 2021.”He came through and provided,”Alabama coach
Nate Oats said, according to AL.com. “Bailed me out because that play style wasn’t all that fantastic, to be sincere with you. The important things that was excellent about it was that it remained in a pretty good player’s hands. “Editor’s Picks
1 Related Sears, a fifth-year senior, disagreed about the play call.
“I think it was a great play call since it triggered a lot of confusion,” he said. “And they didn’t understand. Like, previously in the game, they were changing whatever guard-to-guard. So like, I did a fast handoff to Labaron [Philon], they didn’t change and I was able to get downhill with my left hand and I was able to get it off with enough time.”
Alabama (24-7, 13-5 SEC) got 23 points from Grant Nelson and 15 points each from Philon and Clifford Omoruyi. The win also ended a two-game skid for Alabama and was the 2nd straight loss for Auburn (27-4, 15-3).
Oats made his third career win over AP No. 1 teams, tying the most by a head coach in SEC history.Men’s Tournament
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