It didn’t take long for Auburn forward Chad Baker-Mazara to comment on No. 4 Auburn’s early exit from Friday’s NCAA Tournament first-round game against No. 13 Yale.
In a now-deleted post about X at Washington’s Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena, Baker-Mazara wrote, “No more,” presumably from the Tigers’ locker room, followed by a laughing emoji. Added three.
He followed up with another post a few minutes later. write “I believe my sons caught me!!”
Three minutes into the first half, Baker-Mazara elbowed Yale’s August Mahoney, and as they sprinted side by side toward the center of the court, he called for a flagrant two-foul whistle. He was blown and was automatically sent off.
“What he did was wrong,” head coach Bruce Pearl said in an on-court interview during the first half. He said: “I thought he should have been the obvious No. 1. To take him out of the game after an entire season’s work would obviously confuse us. He’s one of the best players.
“And it was retaliation because he got punched in the throat on a play earlier. He shouldn’t have retaliated.”
Baker-Mazara seemed surprised when he heard the call and sprinted off the court and down the tunnel to the locker room.
“When you actually look at it, I really think it was excessive in nature, totally unnecessary and not a basketball play,” CBS rules analyst Gene Steratore said on the broadcast. “When you see him get on the court, he lines up his opponents, looks at them, and we watch him play the game. … It has nothing to do with basketball.”
Baker-Mazara started his college career at Duquesne before transferring to San Diego State University and Northwest Florida State University, spending one year at each of those three schools.
This season, he joined Auburn and started eight of 34 games, averaging 10.3 points and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Before the NCAA Tournament began, Baker-Mazara described himself as “the team’s first bad guy,” saying: According to Montgomery Advertisingsaid he accepted the role with the Tigers if it led to wins.
“I like to be a bitch when it comes to things that people don’t like about me,” Baker-Mazara said, according to the outlet. “It helps me become better and brings out the best in me.”
However, against the Bulldogs, the Tigers had to play the final 37 minutes without one of their starters, and although he returned to the game, Jaylin Williams appeared faltered when he suffered another injury. I overcame my fear.
Baker Mazara will not be suspended if Auburn defeats Yale on Friday (leading 41-34 at halftime) and advances to Sunday’s Round of 32, according to multiple reports. .
