UCLA Basketball: Mick Cronin Identifies Top 2 Causes Behind Oregon Loss

Can the Bruins turn this ship around right now?

On Saturday, New Year's Eve Eve (if you will), your UCLA Bruins lost their second Pac-12 inter-conference game of the year, a close 64-59 defeat on the road against the Oregon Ducks.

After the game, fifth-year head coach Mick Cronin unpacked the club's latest loss, per UCLA Communications. The Bruins have fallen to a 6-7 record on the season. This seventh defeat moves Cronin one beyond his total tally of losses during the 2022-23 NCAA season (that team went 31-6 on the year), and one behind the 2021-22 UCLA team's eight total defeats (that team went 27-8 overall).

“You can look at it a lot of ways," Cronin said. "I told the guys, [if] we take care of the ball and keep our turnovers down, we’re going to win. We didn’t do that. Once we got in control of the game, we got loose and sloppy with the ball. That cost us the game. The other thing I would tell you is our shot [selection]. Staying on offense. There were some guys, Lazar [Stefanovic], in particular, who doesn’t usually ever do it. We had a decided advantage in the paint. You can’t get the ball in the paint if you’re shooting the first ball, first three every time. Adem, 6-for-7. Berke, 5-for-7, and Brandon Williams was 3-for-4. Your quick math is 14-for-18. We had to play most of our mobile guys because they were playing so small. Frustrating. Frustrating. Shot selection. We got to get the ball inside.”

The Bruins will have some time to let all this marinate before their next test, a home game against the Stanford Cardinal, slated for Wednesday night.