Mark Sears' mother, Lameka, cleared the air after sending Alabama basketball fans in a spiral with comments made on social media following LSU.

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.

Alabama basketball star guard Mark Sears was benched in the second half of the Crimson Tide's win over LSU. Here's what coach Nate Oats said about it.

The conversation kicks off by acknowledging Alabama's 80-73 win over LSU. The Crimson Tide were surprised on the glass and out rebounded by the Tigers, which kept the visitors in the game. Alabama turned up the second half defense and made sure the game went in their favor. How important was it to protect home court?

Nate Oats and Mark Sears cleared the air after practice Tuesday in the aftermath of Sears' benching last Saturday against LSU.

Alabama guard Mark Sears is getting family support on social media after spending the entire second half of the Crimson Tide's 80-73 win against LSU on the bench. His mom took to Facebook with two different posts.

Asked why Mark Sears sat out in the second half of Saturday's win vs. LSU, Alabama coach Nate Oats said: "We played the guys that we thought gave us the best chance to win in the second half."

Still, Alabama was just too much as the Crimson Tide's depth eventually wore LSU out, and an 8-0 run in the final four minutes ended any hope of an upset. Alabama is now 6-1 in SEC play and sitting right there with rival Auburn.

Alabama basketball's Mark Sears wasn't the only one to have a bounce-back game as the Tide had a shootout with Mississippi State's Josh Hubbard.

The Alabama Crimson Tide will face the Mississippi State Bulldogs on Wednesday, January 29th, at Humphrey Coliseum in this top-ranked college basketball matchup