The Auburn Tigers and Chad Baker-Mazara went their separate ways because of Bruce Pearl's retirement and disagreements on NIL/rev-share payments. Now, he's gone from College Basketball altogether after taking a hard fall during the USC Trojans' Big Ten conference matchup against the Nebraska Cornhuskers during an 82-67 loss to the red-hot Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday and leaving the game. CBM called it a career in Southern California, not long after. It's unclear at this point what exactly happened and if Eric Musselman had a hand.
Per CBS Sports' Matt Norlander, "The school announced that 26-year-old grad student Chad Baker-Mazara 'is no longer a member of the USC Men's Basketball program.' CBS Sports reached out to the school for further clarification on the nature of the split but did not immediately hear back."
Auburnundercover's Nathan King doesn't believe it's Auburn's business. King does believe it was an explosive and appropriate ending to a career that's complicated beyond belief, being that CBM played for five schools in six collegiate seasons, which also included the Duquesne Dukes, San Diego State Aztecs, and Northwest Florida State Raiders (JUCO).
" Not that Auburn people should care anymore, but what a sour end (and a bit fitting) for CBM’s college career. His Auburn tenure had insane lows and great highs," King said.
Chad Baker-Mazara and Auburn both lost the breakup
Sadly, neither CBM nor Auburn were better off without each other.
Sure, CBM balled out with the Trojans, but to what end? No longer was he a conference champion, nor a Final Four participant. He'll forever be associated with this season-gone-bad in the City of Angels, forever defining his image to many hoops fans who don't remember the good times quite like those on the Plains.
Without CBM, the Tigers were definitively worse. Of course, losing Johni Broome, Denver Jones, Chaney Johnson, Miles Kelly, and Dylan Cardwell also had a lot to do with that, but it's undeniable that Baker-Mazara hit key threes when called upon and emotionally lifted the team by verbally disparaging opponents.
You could try to tell the Auburn family not to care about CBM, but his frustrating lows, like the ejection against the Yale Bulldogs in the Round of 64 and the similar ejection in the March 2025 IBOB, make him someone to remember.
Do they get as far without him? Or would they have gotten further had he never brought his brand of basketball to Lee County?
That'll always have Tiger fans wondering "what-if."