TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Fifteen games into his first season with the Crimson Tide, Mark Sears is beginning to look more comfortable wearing his blue collar. The Ohio transfer is Alabama basketball’s second-leading scorer with 14.7 points per game and has put up double-digit points in eight of his last nine outings. However, head coach Nate Oats has never been happier with the starting guard than he was over the weekend.

Sears was instrumental in Alabama’s 78-52 victory over Kentucky. He scored 16 points and dished out four assists against the Wildcats, but it’s his six rebounds and career-best six steals that have his head coach smiling. Sears’ hustle earned him his first Hard Hat Award as well as a new set of expectations from the team.

Following the win over Kentucky, freshman forward Noah Clowney, who leads Alabama in blue-collar points and has already bagged six Hard Hat Awards, came up to Sears, telling the junior, he expects similar gritty performances moving forward. That's something Oats wouldn't mind seeing either.

“I sure hope so, because, man, he looked good,” Oats said when asked Monday if Sears' blue-collar switch had been turned on for good. “I mean he was in there swarming loose balls, getting tough rebounds, stripping guys. … I thought he was outstanding. I hope it clicked for him, but he’s shown some toughness at times. I think he was really up for that game.”

Listed at 6-foot-1, Sears is tied with fellow guard Jahvon Quinerly as the shortest scholarship player on Alabama’s roster. Although, that was hard to tell during Saturday’s win over Kentucky. The 185-pound guard bumped bodies with Kentucky’s forwards for balls in the paint while outhustling them for longer rebounds. Meanwhile, his pickpocketing ability provided a few momentum-changing moments as well.

Reigning player of the year Oscar Tshiebwe fell victim to that right before the half as he was stripped by Sears with 10 seconds remaining in the period. The steal led to a 3-point play on the other end as Quinerly hit a basket and a free throw to extend Alabama’s lead to 35-24. Sears then proceeded to steal the ball from Sahvir Wheeler to ensure Alabama headed into the break with a double-digit advantage.

“He’s definitely tough,” Quinerly said of Sears. “He’s like a little pit bull. I mean, he guards, he rebounds very well for his size. He can shoot the ball very well. Nobody on the team is surprised, but kinda our fans he surprised. He’s a tough cover.”

Sears’ six steals improved his average to a team-high 1.1 per game. Even better for Alabama, the recent uptick in defense hasn’t come at the expense of his offensive production. Along with ranking second on the team in scoring, he’s also hitting 41.9% of his shots from beyond the arc, trailing only Brandon Miller’s 43.5% success rate.

Alabama will need Sears to be clicking on both sides of the ball Wednesday as No. 4 Alabama (13-2, 3-0 in the SEC) heads to No. 15 Arkansas (12-3, 1-2) for a 6 p.m. CT tipoff inside Bud Walton Arena. The Razorbacks have won their last 17 games at home and one of the best backcourts in the SEC with Ricky Council IV and Anthony Black.

“We need to be really up for a tough road game now,” Oats said. “This is as good of a road environment as you are going to see in the SEC.”