Chad Baker-Mazara replaced in Auburn starting lineup for SEC Tournament game
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Chad Baker-Mazara is not in the starting lineup for Auburn for Friday’s SEC Tournament quarterfinal game against Ole Miss.
Instead, senior forward Chris Moore is replacing the fifth-year wing. Moore has appeared in all 31 games for the Tigers this season, starting 3 of them while playing 10.4 minutes off the bench. Baker-Mazara has come off the bench 3 previous times. He averaged 10 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.3 assists in 25 minutes during those 3 games.
It’s not immediately clear what prompted the lineup change, or whether it’s related to Baker-Mazara’s ejection in the final game of Auburn’s regular season. But Baker-Mazara was getting shots up pregame like normal.
Baker-Mazara was tossed with more than 10 minutes remaining in the game against Alabama after a flagrant 2 foul was assessed to him when his forearm made contact with the back of Chris Youngblood’s head while the 2 were wrestling for rebounding position underneath the basket.
In the lead-up to the SEC Tournament, Auburn head coach Bruce Pearl said, “We’re good,” when asked about his conversations with Baker-Mazara. The wing was also tossed 3 minutes into Auburn’s March Madness game against Yale last season for a flagrant 2 foul. Pearl said the 2 have talked, but he had no interest in making the contents of those conversations public.
“Don’t you think my conversations with him should be my conversations with him?” Pearl said. “Regardless of if it’s a retaliation… it’s unacceptable. But I’m not going to talk to you about my conversations with all my players.”
Auburn tips off against Ole Miss at 1 p.m. ET on Friday.
Derek Peterson does a bit of everything, not unlike Taysom Hill. He has covered Oklahoma, Nebraska, the Pac-12, and now delivers CFB-wide content.
