Mick Cronin on what can be done about UCLA's defense: 'Nothing. I can't trade guys'
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin kept it real about the state of his team following an 86-74 loss to Ohio State on Saturday.
The Bruins can’t guard right now, and that’s not going to win games in the Big Ten.
“Highly disappointed in getting our asses kicked physically and our inability to play defense,” Cronin said postgame. “I offer no excuses. Blame me. Blame me I recruited them. I signed them as free agents. We’re not going to win meaningful games if we can’t stop the other team.”
Ohio State shot 53% from the field, including a 9-of-24 (37.5%) mark from 3-point range. The Bruins couldn’t stay in front of guards John Mobley Jr. (28 points) or Bruce Thornton (21 points), and forward Devin Royal chipped in 22 points and nine rebounds as well before he fouled out late.
The Buckeyes scored a whopping 1.453 points per possession, their season-best efficiency and highest against a power five team by a wide-margin, topping a 1.273 points per possession outing against Rutgers. Inversely, the Bruins had their worst defensive efficiency of the season, per Torvik.
“You can’t give up 80+ and win on the road,” Cronin said. “You’re not going to get 90. Can’t do it. So we scored 74 points on the road in the Big Ten. You should have a big time shot to win. Our defense was an embarrassment today. Last couple games it was great, today we couldn’t guard them.”
“We had nobody interested in rising to the challenge defensively. Everybody wants somebody else to get the dirty work. We’re a team that struggles to have dirty work guys.”
Defense has been Cronin’s identity his whole career. It was his calling card during a nine year stretch of NCAA Tournament runs at Cincinnati before heading off to UCLA in 2019-20. And arguably his best team with the Bruins, the 2022-23 team that went 31-6 and won the Pac 12 regular season, finished the year ranked second in Kenpom’s defensive efficiency.
Since Cronin took the UCLA job, the worst the Bruins have finished in defensive efficiency is 112th his first season at the helm. Right now, UCLA is 51st in the country per Kenpom, which is even lower than the 2023-24 team that finished 16-17. The Bruins have also allowed an average of 78.7 points to top-75 Kenpom opponents.
They’ve scored an average of 78.2 points per game in 18 games as a team.
What can be done about the Bruins defense?
“Nothing,” Cronin said. “I can’t trade guys. You get your ass kicked physically, you don’t defend in the Big Ten, you’re going to lose.”
UCLA now sits at 12-6, 4-3 in the Big Ten and has dropped to No. 41 on Kenpom and No. 44 in the NET. If Cronin doesn’t figure out the defense fast, the Bruins could be looking at missing the Big Dance.
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