TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — A solemn Mark Sears watched from the bench throughout the second half of No. 4 Alabama basketball's 80-73 win over LSU on Saturday night. After failing to score in the first half, the star guard did not see the floor following the intermission, as the Crimson Tide overcame a slow start to survive a gritty performance from its visitors.

According to the SEC Network broadcast, Sear's absence in the second half was not due to an injury.

"We went with the guys in the second half that we thought gave us the best chance to win this game, and we won the game," Alabama head coach Nate Oats said. "And our defense was significantly better than the first half. And we haven't done that very often this year. So, that's all I'm going to say about that."

Sears played 17 minutes in the first half, failing to score on 0 of 5 shooting from the floor, including 0 of 2 from beyond the arc. He had three rebounds and three assists with a pair of turnovers. Sears has started all 20 games for Alabama and leads the team averaging 18.1 points and 4.8 assists.

After Alabama and LSU went into halftime tied at 40, Nate Oats opened the second period by sending out a lineup that replaced Sears as well as fellow starter Clifford Omoruyi.

"I didn't think our second-half defense has been very good lately, so we made the point to the guys, we're done starting the same group that starts the game. We're going to start the guys that we think give us the best chance to get a great start in the second half," Oats said. "So we subbed in two guys in the starting lineup. We kind of looked at some leverage numbers, plus-minus numbers and kind of challenged a couple guys."

While Sears never saw the floor in the second half, Omoruyi checked in at the 17:33 mark. After recording just a pair of rebounds in the first half, the starting center pulled down seven boards after the break. Omoruyi finished the game with 8 points and nine rebounds while earning the team's Hard Hat Award.

"Cliff, I didn't think he was bringing it [in the first half]," Oats said. "They had a kid who had 15 rebounds. Cliff was not rebounding it like he needed to, wasn't playing as hard as we liked. He ends up going out and playing extremely hard in the second half, had a great attitude on the bench and ends up winning the hard hat after not starting the second half.

"I kind of just told the guys, that's how life goes sometimes. There's a little bit of adversity, and you've got to challenge it well. I'm super proud of the way Cliff handled it."

When asked what response he wants to see from Sears moving forward, Oats responded, "The same response Cliff gave us in the second half, be all about doing the stuff we need to win basketball games."

No.4 Alabama (17-3, 6-1) will travel to No. 14 Mississippi State (16-4, 4-3) on Wednesday. The matchup is scheduled for 8 p.m. CT and will be televised on SEC Network.