The Auburn wing was ejected before the game really started.
The Auburn Tigers are an analytical darling entering the 2024 men’s NCAA tournament. Despite being a No. 4 seed in March Madness, the Tigers were rated as the No. 4 overall team in the country by KenPom’s model when they tipped off their first round game against No. 13 seed Yale.
Junior wing Chad Baker-Mazara is one reason Auburn has been so good. The 6’7 swingman shot 41.8 percent from three while playing solid defense. His 61.3 percent true shooting mark ranks No. 2 on the team behind regulation rotation players.
Baker-Mazara’s father surprised him by showing up before the game. Unfortunately, his dad didn’t get to watch him for long. Baker-Mazara was ejected early in the first half for hitting a Yale player near the head with an elbow. As the announcers noted, it wasn’t a basketball-related move, and that’s why he was booted. Watch the play here:
Baker-Mazara sprinted to the locker room. Minutes later, he was tweeting about the ejection.
The Auburn wing posted this and deleted it minutes later while the first half was still going on:
He tweeted something a little more positive a few minutes later:
I believe in my boys they got em!!
— Chad Baker-Mazara (@ChadBaker2700) March 22, 2024
Did Baker-Mazara deserve to be ejected? Either way, we’ll see if the Tigers can advance without him.
