Alabama's Mark Sears beats top-ranked Auburn basketball with overtime buzzer-beater
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VIDEO: Nate Oats previews Alabama basketball finale at Auburn
Alabama basketball is getting ready for its last game of the 2024-25 regular season. What Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said before the trip to Auburn.
Alabama's Mark Sears didn't have his best game of the of the year on Saturday. But he did hit arguably the biggest shot of the Crimson Tide's 2024-25 season, hitting a buzzer-beating, game winner to beat top-ranked Auburn, 93-91 in overtime.
One week after being on the wrong end of a buzzer-beater vs. Tennessee, Sears' last-second shot from the top of the paint lifted the eight-ranked Crimson Tide over the Tigers, with the teams splitting their games in the regular season. It was the first time all season the Tigers lost consecutive games after dropping their Tuesday game to Texas A&M.
Here's the shot from Sears:
MARK SEARS WITH A BAMA BUZZER-BEATER TO BEAT NO. 1 AUBURN IN OT! pic.twitter.com/6vsioJX8ib — ESPN (@espn) March 8, 2025
Sears finished with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting, including 1 of 4 from 3-point range. He also added three rebounds and seven assists in the win, though Alabama was led in scoring by Grant Nelson's 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting. He also added eight rebounds and a block in the win.
Auburn's Johni Broome, names as one of the top 15 players for the John Wooden Award on Saturday, was spectacular again, with a game-high 34 points on 15-of-28 shooting. He also added eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and five blocks.
That wasn't the only notable storyline from the game, which saw Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara ejected with a flagrant 2 foul after elbowing Alabama's Chris Youngblood in the back of his head midway through the second quarter.
Up next for Alabama and Auburn is the men's SEC tournament. Auburn has already claimed the top overall seed in the conference tournament, though its grasp on the No. 1 overall seed may be in danger if it doesn't win it. The Crimson Tide has already been guaranteed a double bye in the tournament.
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