With the UCLA basketball team losing to the UConn Huskies in the March Madness tournament, the team is looking to excel in the 2026-27 season. As the UCLA basketball team is led by head coach Mick Cronin, he would speak about an interesting game-day routine that he himself does not like.

According to The California Post, Cronin would say “that's a very real thing” regarding him not being able to eat the day before games. Cronin expressed how everybody deals with nerves, as he even admitted that starving on game day is something that is “tough.”

“I hate it, it's tough. Everybody's system is different,” Cronin said. “When I come to that press conference, if I could do the press conference while eating a steak, I would do the press conference while eating a steak. It's something I've fought my whole career. We all have nerves of different levels. It just kind of is what it is. Everybody's got their different things. Some guys can't sleep. I don't have the ‘I can't sleep' problem.”

Mick Cronin's game-day routine might surprise you. Ben Bolch caught up with the UCLA men's basketball coach to get the truth behind his unusual approach to managing game-day stress. https://t.co/I1FqqDdQdX pic.twitter.com/RgtnP1PceC

— California Post Sports (@capostsports) October 9, 2026

UCLA basketball's Mick Cronin continues on nervous habit

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When Cronin was asked about how he can maintain his energy levels during games, Cronin would even say that “keeping my energy up to coach is no problem.” Cronin would make sure to mention that he does drink “a lot of sugar-free fluids,” and that the nerves started more so when he was a head coach, citing that as a reason he'll know when he won't want to coach anymore.

“See, assistants, they sleep and eat well,” Cronin said. “They're going for runs. They're working out. The head coach is a nervous wreck all day. I think that's how I'll know when I've had enough. When my game day stomach and mind, I know what it feels like, and when I don't have that anymore, that nervousness and that stress – I won't care as much.”

At any rate, Cronin and the Bruins look to further improve next season as play opens on Nov. 2 against the University of Arizona after finishing with a 24-12 record last year.