Chad Baker-Mazara leaves USC in final week as Trojans make NCAA tournament push
Published by RawNews1st
Chad Baker-Mazara’s time with USC is now over.
The Trojans announced on Sunday afternoon that Baker-Mazara was no longer with the program, marking a stunning development for the program as it enters the final stretch of the regular season and the Big Ten tournament.
Baker-Mazara transferred into USC this season. The former Auburn star has averaged 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game this season with the Trojans, all of which have been career highs. He’s USC’s leading scorer, and was the Maui Invitational MVP back in November after leading the Trojans to a win in that marquee tournament in Hawaii.
Baker-Mazara played just 19 minutes in the team’s 82-67 loss to No. 12 Nebraska on Saturday. He went down with an apparent leg injury early in the second half after blocking a shot, and did not return.
Baker-Mazara’s departure is coming at an awful time for the Trojans and head coach Eric Musselman.
USC has just two games left in the regular season, first at Washington on Wednesday and then at home against UCLA on Saturday. Both of those are games the Trojans will have to win if they want any shot at making it into the NCAA tournament.
Saturday’s loss to Nebraska marked the Trojans’ fifth straight. They’ve not beaten a ranked opponent all season, either, and sit at just 18-11 on the year. They have significant work to do in order to make it to the tournament, a place the program hasn’t been to since 2023.
But it wasn’t out of the question. If the Trojans can end the regular season on a two-game win streak and then make a decent run at the Big Ten tournament in Chicago, a late at-large bid certainly wasn’t out of the question.
