Alabama basketball’s Mark Sears was named a semifinalist for the Naismith Trophy Men’s Player of the Year. The honor came one day after he earned a first-team All-American nod from the Sporting News.

Sears was among 10 semifinalists for the award. Auburn’s Johni Broome was also on the list.

Other semifinalists included Florida’s Walter Clayton Jr., Duke’s Cooper Flagg, Marquette’s Cam Jones, Creighton’s Ryan Kalkbrenner, RJ Luis of St. John’s, Purdue’s Braden Smith, Wisconsin’s John Tonje and Texas Tech’s JT Toppin. The list will be cut to four finalists on March 20.

The winner of the award will be announced on April 6. Alabama has never had a player win.

Sears finished the regular season averaging 19.2 points per game for the Crimson Tide. He has also chipped in with five assists and 3.1 rebounds per game.

The point guard from Muscle Shoals showed up in a huge moment Saturday at Auburn. With the score tied late in overtime, he got the ball from Labaron Philon and headed to his left, eventually lofting a jumper from the free-throw line to win the game as time expired against the No. 1 team in the country.

“When we needed him late, he came through and delivered,” Crimson Tide head coach Nate Oats said after the game. “Bailed me out because that play design wasn’t all that great, to be honest with you. So, I think the thing that was great about it was that it was in a pretty great player’s hands. So, he delivered for us there late.”

Alabama’s season continues on Friday, when it faces Kentucky in the quarterfinals of the SEC basketball tournament. The Tide earned a double-bye to begin the tournament, while Kentucky played its way into the game by beating Oklahoma.

The UA-UK game is scheduled to tip off around 8:30 p.m. CT, following the conclusion of the Missouri-Florida matchup, which will begin at 6 p.m. CT. The game will be aired on the SEC Network.