Cronin Brutally Honest, Takes Blame for Embarrassing Ohio State Loss

The Bruins are just 4-3 in conference play this season

Jan 10, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts after a play in the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images | Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

The UCLA Bruins continue to stumble in Big 10 play, falling to the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 86-74 on Saturday. 

The Bruins wasted a 30-point performance from Tyler Bilodeau to fall to 12-6 on the season. It’s been a struggle in conference play for the Bruins as they’ve fallen to 4-3 in conference play, and are losers of 3 of their last 5 games. 

Cronin keeps it real

After the game, head coach Mick Cronin didn’t mince words as the frustration continues to mount for him and the Bruins. 

• “Highly disappointed,” Cronin said. “I offer no excuses, 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.”

• “In my opinion, we didn’t have anybody interested in rising to that challenge, we had nobody interested in rising to the challenge defensively,” Cronin continued. “Everybody wants somebody else to get the dirty work, we’re a team that struggles to have dirty work guys.”

Cronin continued his berating of the Bruins’ roster, claiming there’s “nothing” that can be done to solve any of their problems.

Jan 17, 2026; Columbus, Ohio, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin reacts to a play during the second half against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

• “I can’t trade guys,” Cronin said. “If you don’t defend in the Big Ten, you’re going to lose.”

The Bruins entered this season with lofty expectations, bringing in high-impact transfers such as Donovan Dent, and Steven Jamerson. At the start of the season, UCLA was ranked inside the top 25. Now, they are a long way away from that sort of recognition. 

UCLA has dealt with injuries this season to players such as Skyy Clark, who is averaging 13.5 points per game in 14 appearances, and inconsistency all-around from the group.

Jan 14, 2026; University Park, Pennsylvania, USA; UCLA Bruins guard Donovan Dent (2) drives the ball to the basket during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

In particular, Dent has struggled the most in terms of adapting to the Big Ten playstyle. After averaging 20.4 points per game last season with New Mexico, Dent is averaging just 12.3 points per game this season, while shooting career-lows from both the floor (41 percent), and from three-point range (9 percent). Dent was one of the most sought-after transfer portal talents last offseason, but he has still yet to properly adjust to the higher competition. 

Things are quickly unraveling for the Bruins as their start to Big Ten play has not gone well. If they wish to make it back to the NCAA Tournament, and embark on a deep run, they’ll need to not only get healthy, but also get more consistency from some of their star talents.

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