Former Auburn guard Chad Baker-Mazara's collegiate career came to an unceremonious end on Sunday when he was dismissed from the USC basketball program in his - finally - last season of eligibility.
The 26-year-old was having a terrific season on the court for USC, averaging a career-best 18.5 points-per-game playing against kids nearly a decade his junior. But his antics had grown tiresome in Los Angeles, to the surprise of absolutely no one.
This was always how it was going to end for Baker-Mazara. Prone to dirty plays and locker room antics that overshadowed his basketball talent, Baker-Mazara and USC head coach Eric Musselman always seemed to be an odd fit, destined for catastrophe.
That catastrophe took place over the weekend, with USC in the midst of fighting for its NCAA Tournament lives that will now take place without its leading scorer. Baker-Mazara left USC's loss to Nebraska briefly with an injury before emerging from the locker room to sit courtside with fans instead of his teammates:
Interesting part of Nebraska vs. USC game yesterday, Chad Baker-Mazara left the game with an injury briefly, came back out to the court but didn't sit on the main bench with the team rather courtside for the rest of the game.
— Chase Matteson (@ChaseMatteson) March 1, 2026
Today, USC moves on from Baker-Mazara.⬇️ https://t.co/PQdAqQco8P pic.twitter.com/RXt0syRiDE
Chad Baker-Mazara's overlong college career was always destined for an unceremonious end
Baker-Mazara was always hated in Tuscaloosa by Alabama fans. He was thrown out of his last Iron Bowl of Basketball a season ago when he received a flagrant two foul for elbowing Alabama guard Chris Youngblood in the back of the head in the latest string of dirty plays.
Baker-Mazara got to watch in the locker room as Alabama spoiled the Senior Day for the Tigers when Mark Sears hit a game-winning runner in overtime.
Auburn fans defended CBM every chance they got, until he abandoned them over the offseason for Los Angeles, and made sure to take some parting shots in the process. Now most Tigers fans turned their back on their former guard, freely admitting to all of the issues that every other fanbase found obvious for a long time.