Auburn's Chad Baker-Mazara Might Have Cost His Team A Win Over Rival Alabama

Basketball can be a physical game, but Auburn’s Chad Baker-Mazara took that physicality a little too far - twice.

The No. 1 Auburn Tigers and No. 7 Alabama Crimson Tide faced off for the final time in the regular season. While most people would think of these schools as fierce rivals on the gridiron, make no mistake, the rivalry on the hardwood is just as intense.

Earlier this year, Auburn got a win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa, back when the Tide were ranked No. 2 in the country. The visitors were able to find a way to keep with - and exceed - Alabama’s top-ranked offense and emerge with a 94-85 win.

Round two of this matchup was even more electric, with Alabama winning 93-91 in overtime. Point guard Mark Sears hit a floater in the lane as time expired to seal the deal. 

However, it could have been an Auburn win had Baker-Mazara not missed nearly 25 percent of the game.

As both teams were scrapping for a rebound, Baker-Mazara and Chris Youngblood were scrapping for a rebound. The Tigers guard crossed a line when he shoved his elbow into the back of Youngblood’s head. He was assessed a Flagrant 2 and ejected.

I mean, that’s just wrong. You can’t lose your cool because a guy boxed you out. Save elbowing people for practicing your MMA skills.

What makes this play even worse is that earlier in the game he whacked Youngblood in the face with his full open palm. Granted, it was accidental (he was going for the ball and just missed), but whacking the same guy in the head twice in the same game is still bad.

Who knows? Maybe his presence could have prevented the loss. He is one of their best two-way players after all and had been making a huge impact on the game until this point. We'll never know for sure, but his absence certainly didn't help anything.