Bruins' Cronin Needs More After First Conference Win

The UCLA Bruins earned their first Big Ten win in school history, taking down the Washington Huskies at home, 69-58. Coach Mick Cronin spoke to the media postgame and addressed a few positives and negatives, wanting more from his group going forward.

Dec 3, 2024; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts in the first half against the Washington Huskies at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins (7-1) came out with a 69-58 win over the Washington Huskies (6-2) to earn their first Big Ten win in their new conference. It was a tape-to-tape win for the Bruins as they shot the ball well from range and received impactful play from several key guys.

The Bruins were led by sophomore guard Sebastian Mack who tied for the team-high in points with junior forward Tyler Bilodeau. Mack tallied five rebounds and three assists in his fifth game this season scoring in double figures. Cronin has been impressed with his play all season.

Bruins coach Mick Cronin addressed the media postgame and gave credit to the Huskies for their toughness and how they were able to pose issues for the Bruins. Even with 11 missed free throws and 10 offensive rebounds allowed, the Bruins still won by double-digits.

"He's [Mack] been great all year, he's been doing it all year really," Cronin said. "He's been the only consistent offensive threat for us on the perimeter, he's been great. He still needs to improve on the defensive end, but obviously it's nice to have somebody like him that can create offense for you when you're struggling."

The Bruins only allowed 58 points to a strong Huskies team that was averaging just 70.9 points per game, the second-lowest total in the conference. They were able to force 12 turnovers, which translated to 19 extra points.

Cronin gave some credit to his team's defensive play but expects more from them. He felt that the last week of rest led his group to come out rusty and failed to apply pressure to the Huskies' offense, specifically on their full-court press.

"Our constant is our defense, we give up 58 to tonight, but I just didn't think we were as fast and as athletic tonight," Cronin said. "I thought our pressure didn't bother them at all tonight, I just thought we weren't committed to it the way we need to be, especially in our home games. We tried to get after them a little bit, I tried to force those guys to get up after them more, and I didn't see it. We didn't have the speed and the aggressiveness. I tried to force them to do it a few times, but our press is going to have to be more of a factor for us, especially at home."

The Bruins did a lot of good things in the game as they turned the ball over just eight times, one of the lowest totals of the year for them. Cronin mentioned that even with some miscues, they were still able to win due to a lack of turnovers, finding 16 assists on 25 made shots and shooting 8-of-12 from 3.

Cronin and his group will prepare for Sunday afternoon when they hit the road to face the No. 12 Oregon Ducks in Eugene. It will be the first road game for the Bruins since their neutral sight loss to New Mexico back on Nov. 8th. It will be quite a showdown as the Bruins look to enter the top 25 again.

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