Opponents hate him.

Refs hate him, too.

What to do about Chad Baker-Mazara?

Baker-Mazara is Auburn’s starting small forward. His game is dynamic, his mouth is a garbage can and his minutes are appointment television. He’s my favorite player in college basketball since Florida’s Joakim Noah, but SEC commissioner Greg Sankey might not agree.

CBM’s vibe is sudden danger, and I mean that in a good way, but I’m starting to think he’s being unfairly targeted by league officials.

Is the SEC going to finish this all-time season with different rules for Auburn’s talkative star? It sure feels that way after Auburn’s victory against Oklahoma earlier this week. Did refs really need to slap CBM with two fouls on one play, or did they just want to get him out of the game?

Keep a close eye on CBM on Saturday when the No.1-ranked Tigers play No.6 Florida at Neville Arena (3 p.m. tipoff). Some veteran players get the benefit of the doubt from officials. Then there’s CBM. He could trip over his own feet and pick up a technical foul.

The fouls that led to his ejection against the Sooners were unjustified, plain and simple. Is it going to be that way for Auburn the rest of the season? Is CBM going to walk into the SEC Tournament with a target on his back? We already know a quick whistle is awaiting him in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

Everyone remembers last year. Auburn won the SEC Tournament and had all the momentum going into the Big Dance. CBM was a big reason why. He’s one of the best players in the country, and everything was coming together for him at the right time in 2024. Then came the first-round game against Yale.

Refs knew the scouting report on CBM and they ejected him from the game before anyone could even break a sweat. Yale went on to upset Auburn and CBM got the blame.

Refs go into the first round with an agenda. I see it every year. They want to set the expectations early. No funny business. They made an example out of Auburn’s CBM. I tried to warn him about his sneaky elbows before the NCAA Tournament, but he laughed and shrugged it off.

Now it’s to the point where refs in the SEC don’t even call fouls when opponents stick their elbows in CBM’s chest. Against Oklahoma, Sooners freshman Jeremiah Fears elbowed CBM in the open court. Clearly, it was a non-basketball play. Instead of giving Fears a foul, the refs reviewed the film and gave him a high-five.

There is a clear bias against CBM. And all because he talks a little trash. Give me a break. Sankey should issue a formal apology on behalf of the SEC for CBM’s most recent ejection. CBM’s colorful personality isn’t hurting anything and I could make the argument that it’s good for the game.

Auburn is the No.1 team in the country for a lot of reasons. Bruce Pearl is a great coach. Johni Broome is playing like the best big man in the country. Miles Kelly was the missing link. Freshman Tahaad Pettiford is fearless. But, for me, it all starts with Baker-Mazara’s relentless pursuit of driving everyone on the opposing team completely insane.

CBM is old school. He talks trash the way Michael Jordan, Larry Bird and Charles Barkley talked trash. CBM should get his own camera feed during the NCAA Tournament. He’s that fun to watch and he plays with an angry passion that has gone completely dormant in the NBA.

I’m 100 percent positive that the NBA is not ready for CBM’s game next season.

The Association went limp years ago. Players who make over $100 million refuse to play on back to back nights. Enforcers are a thing of the past. There are no rivalries. Everything is a foul. Steph Curry Syndrome ruined the league. Luka couldn’t be bothered to play defense in the NBA Finals. Kevin Durant is the King of Cry. Fans have nicknamed Devin Booker “Charmin Ultra-Soft.”

One player, spoiled brat Jimmy Butler, quit on his team, the Miami Heat, during the middle of the season.

Fans are constantly bemoaning this new NIL era of collegiate athletics. I get it, but it’s not all bad. This season, SEC basketball is a more entertaining product than the NBA. It’s because players like CBM are playing with passion on the college level instead of toiling away in the G-League or watching from the bench in the NBA.

CBM talks more junk than a waste management convention in Las Vegas. He might be a headache for refs, but he’s the reason why college basketball has never been better.

BE HEARD

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Joseph Goodman is the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group, and author of the book “We Want Bama: A Season of Hope and the Making of Nick Saban’s Ultimate Team.”