WATCH: Alabama tops Auburn in thrilling overtime game as Mark Sears floater beats the buzzer

No. 7 Alabama avenged its loss to No. 1 Auburn from last month with a Mark Sears floater that fell as time expired in overtime to give the Crimson Tide a 93-91 upset win on a wild Saturday afternoon. The Crimson Tide got big performances from super senior Grant Nelson and true freshman Labaron Philon in the victory, and Sears sunk the dagger into the Tigers after a relatively quiet outing.

“In my mind, I was saying, ‘It’s going to be a game-winner.'” Sears, who finished with nine points on 3-of-9 shooting, said on ESPN postgame. “Coach drew up an amazing play. I had a quiet game — shoutout to Grant Nelson and Labaron Philon — I was just able to come through and deliver.”

It’s the 10th win over an AP Top 25 team for Alabama this season, improving on a single-season program record, and fourth over an AP top-10 team. The win also improves Nate Oats’ record to 4-3 as Alabama coach when facing No. 1-ranked teams.

Nelson carried the load for Alabama with 23 points and eight rebounds and set the tone early as the Tide contended against the No. 1 team playing in one of the most hostile environments in college basketball. He had 15 of his 23 points in the first half, which included an and-one, a pair of triples and a rim-rocking finish above the rim. 

He finished the dunk off with his signature “Crimson Crane” celebration.

Philon had 15 points and carried a big load in the second half where he went a perfect 4-for-4 from the field. He added four points in the overtime period, which included a big sequence in which he picked the pocket of Auburn guard Tahaad Pettiford and converted on the other end. That was part of a 4-0 run in a 30-second span to give Auburn its first lead in overtime. 

Auburn star Johni Broome put the team on his back and nearly carried the Tigers to victory with clutch play after clutch play during the stretch. Broome finished with a career-high 34 points and added eight boards, including the following big buckets:

• Game-tying bucket with 59 seconds remaining in regulation, eventually forcing overtime
• Go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:43 remaining in overtime to give Auburn an 87-86 lead
• Game-tying 3-pointer with 16 seconds remaining in overtime to tie it at 91-91

Despite the loss, No. 1 Auburn — the projected No. 1 overall seed in Jerry Palm’s bracket entering the day — will remain as the projected No. 1 overall seed in his updated projections. 

The outcome is more significant for Alabama, which with the win moves to the top No. 2 seed in Palm’s bracket, positioning itself to potentially play its way onto the 1 line with the SEC Tournament upcoming.