Paul Finebaum reacts to Chad Baker-Mazara ejection, predicts how Bruce Pearl will handle it

Auburn‘s Chad Baker-Mazara was ejected in the second half of the Tigers’ 93-91 loss to Alabama on Saturday after he appeared to elbow Chris Youngblood in the back of the head. On Monday, ESPN’s Paul Finebaum weighed in on the ugly moment and revealed how he believes Bruce Pearl will handle it.

“I realize it’s the talk of college basketball today, but having watched Bruce Pearl, he mixes love and tough love about as well as any coach I’ve ever seen,” Finebaum said during an appearance on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. “I hate to give you a, ‘Well, I know he’s going to take care of it,’ because there’s no guarantee of that. But I feel confident that he will.

“Sometimes when these things get out into the open, as dramatically as they have, it makes it even more incumbent on the coach. And I’ve read all the columns and the criticism and how this is really going to affect Auburn — I don’t buy that. I think these things eventually take care of themselves, and I think this one will.”

Before leaving the game, Baker-Mazara recorded seven points, two rebounds and three assists in 18 minutes. The senior guard has been key to Auburn’s success this season, averaging 12.9 points per game while shooting 46.9% from the field.

Nonetheless, Baker-Mazara’s talents have occasionally been overshadowed by his antics. Baker-Mazara was also ejected for committing a Flagrant 2 foul in Auburn’s loss to Yale in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.

It was a similar situation, with Baker-Mazara seemingly elbowing the Yale player in the head. After Auburn’s loss against Alabama in overtime, Bruce Pearl weighed in on Baker-Mazara’s ejection.

“What I’d like is for the first fouls to be called,” Pearl said. “But I have not seen the play, so I just can’t comment on whatever happened there. Obviously, a Flagrant 2, this is his second time having it. And obviously, we’re not as good a team without him.

“He takes a lot of contact. He gets hit a lot. If it was some sort of a retaliation, he just can’t retaliate. I’ll know more when I look at the play.”

Chad Baker-Mazara only added fuel to the fire by taking to social media after the game and posting a story on Instagram with the caption, “Rent free.” Fans won’t have to wait long to see how Pearl handles Baker-Mazara’s actions.

As the No. 1 seed in the SEC Tournament, Auburn has a double bye in the SEC Tournament and will play their first game in the event on Friday at 1 p.m. ET. Their opponent is yet to be determined.