The Auburn Tigers did not end the season the way they would have liked, especially since they ended it on a two-game losing streak and lost to bitter rival Alabama on their home court on Saturday, March 8.
The Tigers kept their game against the Crimson Tide close, so much so that the teams went into overtime, however, an off-balanced buzzer-beater from the free throw line by Alabama's Mark Sears won it for the Crimson Tide before the game could go into a second overtime.
Auburn got quite the performance from start player Johni Broome, who dropped 34 points on Alabama, and Tahaad Pettiford off the bench also was a huge life for Auburn with 19 points. Chad Baker-Mazara, a starter for Auburn, was not able to be as much of a help as he normally is since he was ejected from the game after playing just 18 minutes, much less than his usual due to an off day and foul trouble.
Baker-Mazara was hit with the Flagrant 2 foul with almost 11 minutes left in the second half while on a rebound, it can be seen that Baker-Mazara elbowed Alabama's Chris Youngblood in the back of the head away from the ball. Upon replay review initiated by the officials, Baker-Mazara was given the Flagrant 2 foul and ejected from the game.
It was very clear that Baker-Mazara threw his elbow at the back of Youngblood's head for no reason. Even his own teammates, like Broome, are calling out Baker-Mazara because this is not the first time something like this has happened.
Last year in the NCAA Tournament, Baker-Mazara was ejected in Auburn's first-round game against Yale, a game they would be upset in. Youngblood might have targeted Baker-Mazara and baited him into contact, but the senior guard needs to know not to fall into the trap, especially when he has a history of Flagrant 2 fouls.
Head coach Bruce Pearl did not have a comment on the foul as he said he hadn't seen the film of it yet. However, it is pretty clear and obvious that Baker-Mazara hit Youngblood in the back of the head for no reason. Even though Auburn will need him going forward, some sort of punishment has to be dealt out.
If this was a one-time thing, it may be different, but this is now a pattern for Baker-Mazara, especially in big games. The senior guard may not have had a great game yesterday, but he is one known to heat up in games quickly and could have been the spark Auburn needed yesterday to get the win, but instead he was sitting in the locker room because he was ejected for a foul that was completely unnecessary.