UCLA Basketball: Mick Cronin Gives Morbid Answer When Asked About Losing

Cronin does not like to lose.

Mick Cronin does not like losing.

Of course, few basketball coaches and players like to lose, but the UCLA basketball head coach seems to detest losing at another level than most. On Tuesday, Cronin shared a dramatic comparison for how losing makes him feel, per Ben Bolch ofThe Los Angeles Times.

"Losing, for me, makes me want to go take the 405 to the 5 and get down to the Coronado Bridge and jump," Cronin said.

The good news for Cronin is the Bruins have been winning a lot more than they have been losing. The Bruins have won five of their last six games, and are on a three-game winning streak after wins over Oregon, Oregon State and USC. 

UCLA now has a .500 record at 11-11, and a winning conference record at 6-5. 

Overall, this season certainly did test Cronin's patience for losing, especially when UCLA got off to a 6-10 start to the year, and suffered some of their worst losses in recent memory. After the Bruins lost key players this offseason like Jaylen Clark, Tyger Campbell and Jaime Jaquez Jr., they've had to adjust to new core of players. 

There have definitely been some growing pains through the 2023-2024 season, but overall the Bruins look like they are trending upward, especially if they can extend this winning streak. That will be extra important for Cronin, who clearly does not taking losing well. 

The Bruins will next get the chance to extend their winning streak against Stanford on Wednesday.