Bruce Pearl breaks silence on Chad Baker-Mazara coming off bench vs. Vanderbilt
02/12/2025 11:59 AM
The Auburn basketball team avoided the trap on Tuesday night as they went on the road and took down Vanderbilt. The top-ranked Tigers have a massive game on Saturday on the road against #2 Alabama, so Tuesday night’s contest had trap game written all over it. Auburn handled business as they won the game 80-68, but Chad Baker-Mazara struggled mightily coming off the bench. He is typically a starter, but he is fighting an injury right now.
Chad Baker-Mazara played 28 minutes in the win against Vanderbilt, but he went 0-6 from the floor for zero points. He did come off the bench in this one, and Auburn basketball head coach Bruce Pearl thinks that he needs more rest.
“Chad is just flat-out banged up and has been limited in practice because of not being able to get reps,” Bruce Pearl said after the game, according to an article from Sports Illustrated. “He gets bounced around pretty good out there, all of 180 lbs., so it just made sense. I'm glad he was able to go. He played great defense in the second half and passed the ball really well too. We just have to get him some rest and get him healthy.”
Luckily for Auburn, they were able to get a ton of production from a different player that came off the bench: Chaney Johnson. Johnson finished with 20 points on 9-10 shooting.
“Yeah, I mean, again, Chaney is our hardest worker,” Pearl said. “You watch film last year, Chaney, and you see some moments, but you don't even recognize him because he's twice the man he was. He and coach Damon Davis, our strength coach, put the work in. Our nutritionist, Emily, helped with his body. He is one of the best athletes in this league. He's powerful, quick, explosive, and has a really good touch. He can shoot it from the perimeter. I’m telling you, Chaney can really shoot it. I've got to do a better job of getting him some looks on the outside, which will help open up his game even more.”
The big question heading into this game was whether or not Auburn would be looking ahead to Saturday’s showdown against Alabama. An impressive road win against a talented Vanderbilt team answered that question.
“That was a really good win against a really good basketball team,” Pearl said. “Mark’s [Byington] done a tremendous job. I enjoyed our preparation, enjoyed watching his team play the way they’ve played, the way they’ve competed. Out of respect for Vanderbilt and their coaching staff and the way they do things, you could tell that we were ready. You could tell that this game had all of our focus and we got off to a great start. We stopped guarding a little bit there in the first half, and that was an issue.”
Alabama had a tricky trap game on Tuesday night as they had to face Texas on the road. The Crimson Tide got the win, and now first place in the SEC will be on the line Saturday when Auburn comes to town. That is the game of the year in college hoops, and you won’t want to miss it. Hopefully Chad Baker-Mazara is doing better for that one.
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