Mick Cronin is at it once more. Roughly a month and a half after he skewered his whole crew whereas speaking himself up throughout a postgame press convention, the UCLA basketball head coach unleashed one other fiery rant. This time, he took purpose at followers.
Following an embarrassing collapse at house versus Minnesota, which noticed the Bruins blow a 17-point lead and lose 64-61 after capturing 5-of-15 from the free throw line within the second half, Cronin directed his frustrations at Pauley Pavilion.
“All we’re anxious about is our capturing, … Our crowd’s thoughts is on the flawed stuff,” he stated, per the Every day Bruin’s Ira Gorawara. “They make it worse. The stress in Pauley is loopy. How about assist the man, cheer for the man? He isn’t making an attempt to overlook the free throw. Everybody’s thoughts is on the flawed stuff.”
There are numerous causes for UCLA followers to stew after Tuesday night time’s debacle. The Bruins gave up 41 factors within the second half after holding the Golden Gophers to 23 within the first 20 minutes. They missed their final 5 makes an attempt from the charity stripe and finally allowed Lu’Cye Patterson to attain a go-ahead layup with eight seconds remaining. Poor protection and a scarcity of composure buried the squad.
However Cronin’s criticism is essentially the most inexplicable dagger the Pauley devoted needed to incur on this Huge Ten Convention matchup. One would hope that he could be extra cautious together with his phrases after getting lambasted for calling his gamers delusional following a Jan. 7 loss to Michigan. The 2-time Pac-12 Coach of the 12 months can’t assist however level fingers, although, discovering a brand new group of individuals to reprimand.
Mick Cronin, UCLA are up and down
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Whereas tempers are going to be excessive after an unsightly loss, it is very important bear in mind the sport is performed on the courtroom and never within the stands. The Bruins couldn’t hold it collectively within the latter a part of the competition. Sebastian Mack scored a team-high 13 factors off the bench and Tyler Bilodeau and Kobe Johnson every added 12 factors of their very own, making up greater than half of the offense. Minnesota’s Dawson Garcia practically equaled their output by himself, notching 32 factors on 9-of-15 capturing.
UCLA basketball continues to be one of many wildest curler coaster rides of the 2024-25 season. They gained 11 of their first 13 video games, misplaced 4 convention video games in a row, rattled off seven straight victories and have now dropped two of their final three. Cronin’s antics solely increase the turbulence.
He’s stepping on toes left and proper, making himself probably weak if the Bruins don’t end the season robust. They have been projected to be a No. 6 seed within the NCAA Match earlier than this crushing defeat, in response to ESPN’s bracketologist Joe Lunardi. UCLA will undoubtedly plunge within the rankings, however the 19-8 crew ought to nonetheless be dancing in March.
Mick Cronin has a lot to replicate on till then, nonetheless.