LOS ANGELES — When UCLA head coach Mick Cronin publicly calls out his team or goes off on other tangents, the college basketball world loves to fire back at the sixth-year head coach. How could it be constructive? How can his team succeed?
Well, maybe there is a method to the madness.
After a sluggish four-game losing streak to start 2025 and some fiery words from their coach, the Bruins have flipped the script and rattled off six wins in a row. The latest one may be its most impressive yet: taking down No. 9 Michigan State in front of a revitalized Pauley Pavilion.
‘You can call them the hottest team in the league right now, and deservedly so,’ said Michigan State coach Tom Izzo.
Cronin’s rants could be one of several reasons why the Bruins are quickly riding high and contenders in the Big Ten. During the four-game skid that included two losses by double-digits, the offense averaged 65.5 points per game and made less than 45% of its buckets in each contest. Three of them were also in different time zones, something Cronin complained about.
UCLA started the season strong and looked like a contender for a top four seed in the NCAA Tournament, but the string of bad losses pushed it toward bubble territory.
Then the Bruins returned to the West Coast, and things started to click. They haven’t left the Pacific Time Zone in three weeks, and the offense has pieced it together. In the five ensuing games, it averaged 80.8 points per game and made more than half of its shots in four of those victories.
‘We knew we had to do something after those losses, and I think we did a great job of coming together and focusing on day-by-day, focusing on the next day, and just trying to stick through it,’ said forward Tyler Bilodeau. ‘We knew we were going to get over the hump and we just have to keep doing that.’
The rise of the 7-footer
There’s been a catalyst during the run, and it’s happened by accident. In the Jan. 21 win over Wisconsin, 7-foot-3-inch Spain native Aday Mara entered the game after not getting any playing time the game before and completely dominated the Badgers. Offensively and defensively, Wisconsin had no answers for Mara’s dominance near the bucket as he posted a career-high 22 points.
Since then, Mara has seen his role increase, going from getting garbage time and spot minutes to the delight of the home crowd to being a difference maker on the court. He can effortlessly grab rebounds, shows finesse posting up around the rim and his long arms are resulting in opposing players having their shots swatted into the crowd or completely missing the net.
‘I saw him early in the year and I didn’t think he was very good,’ Izzo said. ‘I saw him in the last four or five games and I think he’s really good. He creates some problems for you offensively.
‘That kid’s gonna be really good,’ he added.
Defense gets to Spartans
The offense has been scoring for the Bruins, but Tuesday’s win over the Spartans was a vintage performance from a Cronin team. UCLA shot only 35% from the field – it’s worst shooting night of the season – and in the second half, went nearly eight minutes without a field goal as Michigan State clawed back.
But what did it do to stay in the game? Cause havoc defensively.
Michigan State turned the ball over a whopping 16 times. Izzo joked fans sitting courtside should have had helmets ‘because the ball was just kind of flying over there.’ Those turnovers led to the Spartans unable to get into transition opportunities and 19 points off turnovers for the Bruins, who only coughed the ball up three times in the contest.
“I told the guys, if we get to the NCAA tournament and we play every game with three turnovers, we’ll cut the nets down,” Cronin said.
The defensive intensity was something Izzo didn’t think his team handled well, calling it “the most physical game I’ve been in the Big Ten in a long time.” The physicality is why a tough bucket by UCLA’s Eric Dailey Jr. with seven seconds left was the game-winner.
Whether it’s shooting at a high percentage or clamping down defensively, UCLA is finding ways to win at the right time. In addition to the home crowd going from a snoozefest to a raucous one, the Bruins are creeping toward becoming a March Madness lock, getting the double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament and winning the conference.
Could the fiery criticism from Cronin be the reason the Bruins turn it around? Don’t rule it out.
‘They lost four in a row and everyone pronounced them dead,’ Izzo said. ‘Sometimes you need a jolt, and he gave them one.’
“You better hope he keeps yelling.’