Cronin Frustrated as Bruins Shooting Struggles Continue in Rutgers Loss

The UCLA Bruins have continued to struggle on both ends of the floor as they have lost their fourth-straight game, all in Big Ten play. Coach Mick Cronin spoke postgame and expressed his frustrations on his team's lack of execution offensively.
Jan 10, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin looks on during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
Jan 10, 2025; College Park, Maryland, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin looks on during the second half against the Maryland Terrapins at Xfinity Center. Mandatory Credit: Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images / Reggie Hildred-Imagn Images
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The UCLA Bruins (11-6, 2-4 B1G) had another poor shooting performance on Monday night as they fell to the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (9-8, 2-4 B1G) on the road. It marks the team's fourth-straight loss, all in conference play, and Coach Mick Cronin expressed his frustrations postgame.

"Look, we're missing wide open shots," Cronin said. "We go on the road, take care of the ball, only get nine turnovers. Obviously, Tyler [Bilodeau] had a tough night, their physicality bothered him clearly, but he missed some open looks too. Had a lot of open looks, Lazar [Stefanovic] off a play we ran he's unguarded, Eric Dailey [Jr.] unguarded top of the key, he was 0-3 from three, so we had a lot of open looks but you can't give up 45 points in the second half and win a conference game, period. I don't care what your name of your team is, where the game is being played, you're not going to win."

Junior forward Tyler Bilodeau was 0-7 shooting from the field and scored all six of his points from the free throw line. The Bruins as a whole shot just 42.4% from the field and a measly 31.6% from three-point range including a combined 5-16 from the starting five.

The Bruins have had a tough time scoring the ball over ever since they posted 111 points against Prairie View A&M in the middle of December. Before their four-game skid, they were scoring 77.7 points per game and have scored under that total in each of their last six games.

Cronin was asked how his group went from being a top- 15 team in the country that possessed one of the top defenses in the country, to being a team that may not make the NCAA Tournament if they continue on this trajectory. He gave another blunt and honest answer.

"The guys' minds are on other things," Cronin said. "You start thinking you're winning because who you are and your talent level, you're winning because [of] your defense. We were always winning because of our defense. In this league, in high major leagues, if you can't stop somebody, you give up 45 points, you're not going to win, it doesn't matter who you are. Maybe some teams shoot the lights out, there's some some type of teams [that] can do that, we're not that. We don't shoot the lights out, we got to play defense."

The Bruins head coach is in his sixth year and has more than enough knowledge and experience to understand what it will take for his teams to win. Finding a way to hit open shots when given and stronger defensive performances are the top two keys to getting off the schneid sooner than later.

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