The SEC Tournament is here for the Auburn Tigers, with Bruce Pearl and Co. taking on Ole Miss in the quarterfinals. If all goes to plan, Auburn will move on and face Tennessee in the semis, assuming the Vols take care of business against Texas.
Leading up to the action, though, Auburn and Alabama fans were waiting to see if Chad Baker-Mazara would be disciplined for his elbow on Chris Youngblood last weekend. While no suspension was announced, it looks like Pearl has decided to send a different kind of message to his senior guard.
With Auburn taking the floor, there was a noticeable change for the starting lineup, as CBM was on the bench and Chris Moore ended up getting the start over him. Baker-Mazara was on the pine for the first three minutes of the game, checking in at the 16:58 mark of the first half:
Today's 5️⃣#WarEagle | @yellawood pic.twitter.com/WD1ztD8b4c
— Auburn Basketball (@AuburnMBB) March 14, 2025
Bruce Pearl appears to have benched Chad Baker-Mazara for the start of Auburn vs. Ole Miss
Earlier in the week, Pearl said that he had a private conversation with Baker-Mazara, but he wasn't going to detail what the two discussed. With Baker-Mazara not starting against Ole Miss, it sure looks like part of his punishment for his flagrant 2 indeed was spending the first few minutes against the Rebels on the bench.
Plenty of people were calling for Baker-Mazara to miss at least one game, potentially more, after he was rightfully ejected for the elbow against the Tide. In the end, that didn't happen and Alabama fans are still celebrating the Mark Sears game-winner in double overtime.
If everything goes according to plan for both of these teams, then Alabama and Auburn could end up meeting again in the SEC Tournament title game. It goes without saying, but countless eyes will be on Baker-Mazara and Youngblood if they end up facing off once again on Sunday.