Head coach Nate Oats made a lot of changes out of the break, including benching a number of players to start the second half.

Alabama head coach Nate Oats stunned viewers around the nation when he benched star guard Mark Sears in the second half ...

Mark Sears' mother, Lameka, thanked NFL legend Emmitt Smith for his message to her son after getting benched as Alabama basketball faced LSU.

Aden Holloway scored 19 points and Mouhamed Dioubate added 14 as No. 4 Alabama survived a scoreless night from its top scorer ...

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 ...