“I’ll just say this, and then I’m not going to talk (further) about playing time stuff,” Oats said. “We went with the guys in the second half who we thought gave us the best chance to win this game. And we won the game, and our defense was significantly better than the first half, and we haven’t done that very often this year.”

Sears’ 17 first-half minutes were pretty much right on pace for his per-game average of 33, but they weren’t 17 minutes to remember. He shot 0 for 5 from the floor, but Oats was concerned about something other than whether his shot was falling. Earlier this year, Sears was held scoreless in 21 minutes against Illinois, and Alabama not only overcame Sears’ off night for a win, it scored 100 points without him.

But this was different. This was disciplinary.

In Sears’ absence, guard Aden Holloway delivered a team-high 19 points, which is precisely Sears’ per-game average. LSU beat Alabama consistently for rebounds in the first half, leading to a 40-40 tie at the break. The Crimson Tide began rebounding better in the second half, however, as center Cliff Omoruyi grabbed seven of his nine rebounds in the final 20 minutes. Between better rebounding and stiffer defense, UA found a way to improve to 17-3 and 6-1 in SEC play without its offensive catalyst.

Meanwhile, Oats, who has been lamenting his team’s inability to play consistent defense for a full 40 minutes, found a catalyst of his own.