Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats praised Mark Sears' response after he was benched against LSU, but did not say whether he would start at Mississippi State.

Vanderbilt's roster construction and Morez Johnson's rapidlly-improving defense among trends Isaac Trotter is tracking.

Will Alabama basketball's Mark Sears start after benching? Nate Oats doesn't 'really know' IS 'CY' THAT GUY? Chris Youngblood shines in first start for Alabama

No. 4 Alabama defeated No. 14 Mississippi State, 88-84, on Wednesday night in Starkville. After the Crimson Tide prevailed in the top-15 test on the road, Alabama head coach Nate Oats spoke to reporters at Humphrey Coliseum.

Alabama coach Nate Oats sent a message with the benching of star Mark Sears. Here's what Oats said of his decision to bench Sears vs. LSU:

Alabama basketball coach Nate Oats benched his star player Saturday night, Mark Sears. And you can bet he's got every player's attention over it.

No. 4 Alabama pulled away from LSU on Saturday night in the second half for an 80-73 win without the services of the SEC's leading scorer entering the weekend, Mark Sears, who logged zero minutes over the game's second half after leading the team with 17 first-half minutes.

Nate Oats knows that Alabama will need to beat Auburn to achieve some of its goals this year, but a regular season game isn't the main goal.

Alabama star Mark Sears returned to the starting lineup and helped lead the No. 4 Crimson Tide to an 88-84 win at No. 14 Mississippi State on Wednesday night after he was benched for the entire second half in Saturday's win over LSU.

Alabama guard Chris Youngblood led the the Crimson Tide past the Bulldogs 88-84 in front of a hostile Starkville crowd.

Welcome to BamaCentral’s "Just a Minute," a video series featuring BamaCentral's Alabama beat writers. Multiple times a week, the writers will group up or film solo to provide their take on a topic concerning the Crimson Tide or the landscape of college sports.