The Auburn Tigers were just one win away from advancing to the NCAA Tournament championship for the first time in program history.
Unfortunately for the No. 1 overall seed, they ran into one of the few teams that was able to beat them earlier this season. In a clash of the SEC titans, the Tigers took on the No. 1 seed out of the West region, the Florida Gators.
The Tigers were up by as many as nine points, but a masterclass from Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr., who scored 34 points, was too much to overcome, and they lost 79-73. As expected, the team’s players took it incredibly hard, with senior Chad Baker-Mazara quite emotional as he left the court.
The Dominican Republic native made it clear he was trying his best for his home country.
“That was for my Island, man,” Mazara said as he dejectedly walked off.
Mazara finished with a team-high 18 points, and was the only Auburn player who could consistently get things from deep. He went 4-of-7 from deep, while the rest of the team combined to go 3-of-18.
It’s unclear what his next steps are in terms of his career, but if this was it for him at the college leve he certainly went out with a bang. Mazara avergaed 12.2 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists on the year, while also being a fan favorite for his flare and leadership.
