AP men's player of the week: Mark Sears has back-to-back 30-point games for No. 6 Crimson Tide

The senior guard from from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, became only the second player in the last 20 years with back-to-back 30-point games against ranked opponents as the second-ranked Crimson Tide split a pair of games last week.

Sears started off by hitting five 3-pointers and matching a career high with 35 points while dishing out five assists in a 110-98 loss at No. 14 Missouri on Wednesday night. Three days later, Sears scored 30 points with four rebounds and four assists as the Crimson Tide rolled to a 96-83 victory over No. 17 Kentucky.

Sears is second in the SEC in scoring at 18.9 points per game, and the preseason All-American is also averaging 4.8 assists for the nation's highest-scoring team. The Crimson Tide headed into Tuesday night's game against No. 24 Mississippi State tied with Florida two games back of top-ranked Auburn in the conference standings. They wrap the regular season at No. 5 Tennessee on Saturday, then host the No. 3 Gators next week before a mammoth trip to Auburn on March 8.

Chaz Lanier, Tennessee. The senior from Nashville had 30 points and five rebounds to help the fifth-ranked Volunteers to a 77-69 win over then-No. 7 Texas A&M in their only game last week. That made Lanier the second SEC player in the last 20 years to score at least 30 points in a win against a top-10 team on the road. He was 8 of 13 from beyond the arc against the Aggies, tying for the second most 3-pointers in a game in school history.

Johni Broome, Auburn; Cooper Flagg, Duke; Barry Dunning Jr., South Alabama.

Izaiyah Nelson, Arkansas State. The junior from Marietta, Georgia, had 16 points and a career-high 23 rebounds in a 60-56 loss to South Alabama last week, tying for the second most rebounds in a Division I game this season. Nelson followed with 18 points and 10 boards in a 95-70 rout of Louisiana-Monroe. He has three consecutive double-doubles for the Red Wolves (20-9, 11-5 Sun Belt), who are a game back of James Madison in their conference race. They visit Louisiana and Louisiana-Monroe this week.

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Alabama guard Mark Sears (1) reacts after a play against Kentucky during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

Alabama's Mark Sears (1) passes around Missouri's Mark Mitchell, left, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, in Columbia, Mo. (AP Photo/L.G. Patterson)

Alabama guard Mark Sears (1) works between Kentucky guards Koby Brea (4) and Otega Oweh (00) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game, Saturday, Feb. 22, 2025, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt)

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