Alabama star Mark Sears returned to the starting lineup for the No. 4 Crimson Tide on Wednesday night in their road contest at No. 14 Mississippi State after he was benched for the entire second half in Saturday's win over LSU.

After his second-half benching against LSU, Mark Sears was back in Alabama basketball’s starting lineup at Mississippi State on Wednesday. The lineups were posted shortly before tip in Starkville. The move to return Sears to the court came after Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats said Tuesday that the Muscle Shoals native had an excellent few practices before the game.

In the 159th battle of the Tigers, Auburn walked away with an 87-74 victory over LSU to remain unbeaten in conference play. Auburn took 29 more shots than LSU but leaned on 15 total steals to round up an impressive defensive performance in Baton Rouge.

LSU hosts the No. 1 Auburn Tigers after Jordan Sears scored 21 points in LSU's 80-73 loss to the Alabama Crimson Tide.