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Auburn got its edge back in Sweet 16, says Seth Greenberg
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Auburn punched its ticket to the Elite Eight with a 78-65 win over Michigan on Friday, putting it one step away from the second Final Four in program history.
Chad Baker-Mazara had a quiet night on the stat sheet — six points — but his overall play stood out to ESPN’s Seth Greenberg.
“I think Auburn got their edge back,” Greenberg said on “College GameDay” on Saturday. “Chad Baker-Mazara’s the guy that stirs the drink. And when Chad Baker-Mazara is behind the line, he’s not worth anything. When he crosses the line, he’s getting thrown out of the game. But when he straddles that line and has that little bit of an edge, the rest of the team plays with that edge. And I thought that he made some big plays down the stretch.”
The Tigers limped into the tournament having lost 3 of their last 4, but have taken down Alabama State, Creighton, and Michigan on the way to Sunday’s South regional final against Michigan State.
And while things got heated on the sideline in the win against the Wolverines, Greenberg thought it lit a spark under the team.
“When they got down 10, I don’t mind the bickering. I think it kind of raises the temperature of the whole team. That’s who they are. That’s who they are, and they feed off it,” he said.
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
