For a day or so, Chad Baker-Mazara’s teammates said he felt bad about the free throw he missed in late January in Tuscaloosa. There were 12 seconds left against Alabama. Had he made it, Auburn would have tied the game. But he missed, and Auburn lost.

Big shots like that don’t come around often. And Baker-Mazara had one then. There was no defense on that shot. The ball doesn’t often come back into your hands.

Nor do big shots come around often for an Auburn team that had each of its first 25 wins come by double-digits. The 26th would be its toughest.

Auburn has not played many close games this season. When the games have been close, Auburn lost every time.

But on Saturday in Nashville, with two minutes to play in one of those rare Auburn late-game moments rife with pressure, the ball had found its way back to Baker-Mazara.

“The holy grail,” center Dylan Cardwell said. “I knew if we made it we’d win the game.”

Cardwell stood up from the bench before Baker-Mazara even shot from the corner across the court. He knew. All of his teammates said the same thing: If Baker-Mazara was shooting, they had no doubt he would make it.

This time, Baker-Mazara did make the big shot and Auburn won, 73-66 Saturday over Mississippi State in the SEC Tournament semifinals — advancing to Sunday’s SEC championship game. It was Auburn’s first win this season by single-digits, the first time Auburn took an uppercut and responded back.

“Big cajones,” Cardwell said.

Cajones, it turns out, was a theme. Auburn needed them.

“My heart literally stopped for a second,” Baker-Mazara said. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I gotta shoot this.’”

Just 52 days after Baker-Mazara missed the crucial free throw against Alabama, he said he was confident enough Saturday to know, “Ooh, this is going in,” right when he shot it.

But this was not just a big shot. This was the biggest shot of Auburn’s season so far. It was the dagger, point guard Aden Holloway said, that put Auburn in the championship game. It was the biggest shot for Baker-Mazara, well…

“Ever,” Cardwell said. “Yeah, ever. It takes special.”

Holloway passed Baker-Mazara the ball. Holloway said he initially thought he was going to take a step back 3-pointer himself. But he saw the defense was boxed in around him. So he gave up the ball in a play emblematic of Auburn’s depth. That everyone knew anyone could take the shot.

“I knew it was going in when it left his hand,” forward Chris Moore said.

It was the shot that capped maybe Auburn’s most physical game this year, but one that proved Auburn can be battle-tested, too. It was Auburn’s second Quad 1 win of the year. It was the first time Auburn had to make free throws in the final minute to close out a win.

But to reach that point, Auburn had to find something below their waists to respond to a gut punch.

Asked by ESPN after the game how Auburn came back from getting out-rebounded by 12 in the first half, forward Johni Broome said it was time for Auburn to “drop our nuts” in the second half.

“You heard what I said,” Broome said in the locker room. “I said what I said, and that’s what happened. We came to be more physical. They tried to punk you. Auburn basketball doesn’t get punked.”

Moore said Auburn’s halftime meeting was player-led. Auburn came back out of a 31-31 tie at halftime to win the second half 42-35 and actually out-rebound Mississippi State 19-15.

It was that seven-point margin that Auburn won by.

“They say all of our wins have been by double digits, we can’t win close games, and look where we are today,” Broome said. “So, what now?”

But Auburn has had several close losses: By six to Baylor, by five to Appalachian State, by four to Alabama, by eight to Mississippi State.

After those games, forward Jaylin Williams said Auburn would come in the locker room and use it as a point to learn. That at some point, Auburn would find a way to win one of those games.

It took until March 16. But Auburn learned.

“Out of all the times we lost by single digits all year, this is the time to win,” Williams said. “We win away, neutral site. We can do those things.”

And it’s the reason why Auburn will play for a trophy on Sunday. It’s the type of game that so many new faces came to Auburn to play. It’s the reason everyone on this team has stated for why they are willing to play into the deep rotation that has been a staple: they just want to win. That they truly, genuinely, see winning as more important than any personal stats.

It’s unique these days. It’s working.

“We just got one more game left to really make history,” forward Chaney Johnson said. “Cement ourselves as being one of the best teams to come through Auburn.”

Matt Cohen covers sports for AL.com. You can follow him on X at @Matt_Cohen_ or email him at [email protected]