"Throwing elbows, is that gonna win us a championship?": Auburn center Dylan Cardwell opens up on Tigers' 2024 March Madness loss

One of the biggest upsets of the 2024 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament took place as SEC Champions and #4-seeded Auburn lost 78-76 to 13th-seed Yale in the first round of March Madness.

Dylan Cardwell put the entire situation into perspective in the post-game interview. He called out his teammate Chad Baker-Mazara for his ejection three minutes into the game, and the culture shift necessary for the team to take the next step.

"Just not take things for granted, you know? And realize that all the things we think are important aren't as important as we think they are. Like, throwing elbows, is that gonna win us a Championship? No. And so, just not letting our, things that feel good in the moment dictate our future."

Early in the contest, as Auburn was making its way up the court in transition, Baker-Mazara took a swing at August Mahoney, leading to an immediate flagrant 2 and ejection. Chad, who was averaging 10.3 points on the year, on uber-efficient splits (45.2% from the field and 41.8% from 3), missed the remainder of the contest, lowering the Tigers' chances in the match.

Dylan was the subject of fanfare after his comments as X flooded with tweets about his leadership and maturity with the situation. Even in the comment section of the clip posted by The Next Round, fans gave the senior Center his props.

The last 10 seconds of insanity in Auburn vs. Yale

After a masterclass by John Polakidas, who finished the night with 28 points, Yale marched back from being down by 10 points with a little over seven minutes left to a four-point lead with 10 seconds remaining.

A wild stretch followed that first saw K.D. Johnson miss a free throw after a foul on his successful layup attempt. Johni Broome, who finished the night with 24 points and 13 rebounds, grabbed the offensive rebound. In the ensuing scramble, Tre Donaldson was fouled again.

With a chance to tie, Donaldson missed both free throws, the Tigers' fourth and fifth missed free throws, in the final three and a half minutes. Broome came through once again, grabbing the offensive board and dishing to Jaylin Williams. But, Samson Aletan, the freshman Center got a key block.

Yale and Johni were still not ready to give up as he grabbed yet another board. But, he could not finish a wild contest heave from the 3-point line and the final buzzer sounded. Yale had completed the upset.

Samson Aletan blocks Johni Broome's game-tying layup as Yale upsets Auburn

A year after Princeton upset Arizona in the first round, it was Yale's turn to orchestrate an Ivy League upset. Their next stop is against 5th-seeded San Diego State.