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The 2025-2026 men’s college basketball season wasn’t a particularly notable one for either Los Angeles Big Ten Conference school. Both the USC Trojans and UCLA Bruins under-performed, with USC missing the NCAA tournament and UCLA getting bounced in the second round.
Both teams had drama as well. UCLA had Mick Cronin and his fiery outbursts, which reached a fever pitch in a loss to Michigan State where Cronin wrongly ejected his own player, Steven Jamerson, then got into it verbally with reporters postgame.
USC’s issues weren't as out in the open. It was strange though when their leading scorer, Chad Baker-Mazara, was dismissed from the program mid-season. Since Baker-Mazara’s dismissal, details have slowly crept to the surface about what took place in the Trojans locker room.
USA TODAY’s Andres Soto wrote about the whole ordeal on Thursday, which began with Baker-Mazara refusing to re-enter a game against Nebraska after being injured.
“Baker-Mazara was told he was good to get back into the game, but he physically couldn’t get himself right again. So instead, Baker-Mazara listened to his body. He walked back out of the tunnel and straight to the coaching staff on the sideline, told them he couldn’t go back in,” Soto wrote. “And in the locker room postgame, all of that frustration reportedly boiled over.”
Baker-Mazara got into it with teammates, who didn’t quite believe the severity of Baker-Mazara’s injury. USC quickly decided to dismiss Baker-Mazara, who told the USA TODAY, that he hasn’t spoken to Trojans head coach Eric Musselman since that day.
So while things aren’t necessarily on the up-and-up for the Bruins, it’s worth remembering that USC is not immune to these blow ups either.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Report: How Chad Baker-Mazara's exit from the USC Trojans went down
Continue reading...
Both teams had drama as well. UCLA had Mick Cronin and his fiery outbursts, which reached a fever pitch in a loss to Michigan State where Cronin wrongly ejected his own player, Steven Jamerson, then got into it verbally with reporters postgame.
USC’s issues weren't as out in the open. It was strange though when their leading scorer, Chad Baker-Mazara, was dismissed from the program mid-season. Since Baker-Mazara’s dismissal, details have slowly crept to the surface about what took place in the Trojans locker room.
USA TODAY’s Andres Soto wrote about the whole ordeal on Thursday, which began with Baker-Mazara refusing to re-enter a game against Nebraska after being injured.
“Baker-Mazara was told he was good to get back into the game, but he physically couldn’t get himself right again. So instead, Baker-Mazara listened to his body. He walked back out of the tunnel and straight to the coaching staff on the sideline, told them he couldn’t go back in,” Soto wrote. “And in the locker room postgame, all of that frustration reportedly boiled over.”
Baker-Mazara got into it with teammates, who didn’t quite believe the severity of Baker-Mazara’s injury. USC quickly decided to dismiss Baker-Mazara, who told the USA TODAY, that he hasn’t spoken to Trojans head coach Eric Musselman since that day.
So while things aren’t necessarily on the up-and-up for the Bruins, it’s worth remembering that USC is not immune to these blow ups either.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: Report: How Chad Baker-Mazara's exit from the USC Trojans went down
Continue reading...
