That was a gut punch. On Saturday, the No. 1 Auburn Tigers and No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide played one of the best games of the year. Unfortunately for the local fans on hand, Mark Sears broke countless hearts with his buzzer-beater to give the Crimson Tide an unreal win.
Before that shot went in, though, plenty of people were livid with senior Chad Baker-Mazara. In case you missed it, he was ejected in the second half after he delivered a cheap shot on Alabama's Chris Youngblood. The dirty elbow went to review and Baker-Mazara received the flagrant 2.
From that moment, people have been calling him out left and right. The list includes ESPN's Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg. The two analysts voiced how disappointed they were in Baker-Mazara having this kind of a negative impact on his team.
Jay Williams and Seth Greenberg both called out Chad Baker-Mazara for his dirty play vs. Alabama
“It’s every game - every game he does something and he puts his team in that position,” Williams said. “Somebody needs to sit down and talk to him because he can hinder them from winning a championship.”
With Baker-Mazara off the floor, it really hurt the Tigers on both ends. Johni Broome was unreal, scoring 34 points, but he couldn't do everything on his own. With the SEC Tournament coming up next for this team, a lot of people think Bruce Pearl should consider suspending Baker-Mazara to teach him a lesson. Greenberg would be all for it.
“I’d sit him in the SEC Tournament," Greenberg said. "Say, you know it’s a privilege to play. We’ve got to get his attention, because if he does that in the NCAA Tournament, Auburn ends up going home.”
This isn't the first time Baker-Mazara has been on the wrong end of a controversial moment. Williams mentioned that this has become a consistent problem for him and it's also becoming a consistent concern for Pearl. If this kind of behavior continues, it could seriously put Auburn's dream of winning the natty in jeopardy. It'll be on Pearl to decide if a suspension is in order or not.