What Cronin Blamed For Bruins' Loss at Minnesota

Just when things started to look up for the UCLA Bruins, they suffered yet another disappointing loss, falling to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 78-73 on the road.

After an inspiring win over Illinois, followed by a dominant win against USC, the Bruins fell flat against a lowly Minnesota team, a truly costly loss that could impact their status as an at-large team in the NCAA Tournament.

Poor defensive effort

Feb 18, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin talks to forward Tyler Bilodeau (34) during the second half at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Despite shooting 51 percent from the floor as a team, knocking down 10 of their 24 three-pointers (42 percent), and getting a 32-point game out of Tyler Bilodeau, the Bruins were eviscerated on the defensive end. The Golden Gophers shot 58 percent from the field as a team, and knocked down 12 of their 23 three-point tries (52 percent) which lead to the stunning defeat.

After the game, UCLA head coach Mick Cronin pointed to the porous defensive effort as a catalyst in their loss to Minnesota.

“When you’re plus 10 on the glass, shoot 51 percent, make 10 threes you should win, but not with this team,” Cronin said. “We’ve struggled defensively all year. It’s just been a grind, something I haven’t experienced in really 30 years in college — 23 as a head coach, seven as an assistant. I’ve never experienced anything like this. We’ve got deficiencies, and they exposed them. Execution is what it’s all about. I’m talking about defensive execution. We have weaknesses, they exposed them, give them credit.”

“If I had to do it over again, I would have played a 2-3 zone and stood in it,” he added. “It couldn’t have been any worse than our man. We got lost immediately. Just a bad matchup for the type of defenders we have.”

Cronin takes a jab

Feb 24, 2026; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruin head coach Mick Cronin reacts to a foul call during the second half against the Southern California Trojans at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom Financial. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

Cronin also seemed to take another jab at the current state of college athletics, claiming that there simply isn’t enough time for him, and other coaches in the sport to develop players into strong defenders, given the presence of the transfer portal, and other factors.

It’s not all effort, it’s really not all effort. It’s defensive ability. That’s the difference in this era, when you don’t have guys for periods of time to turn them into effective defenders. You’re not rolling guys out there that have been in your system for three, four, five years. I think you’re seeing it all over, if you look at college basketball, scoring is way up in the numbers, and I think that’s a byproduct of what I’m telling you.”

Never again miss one major story related to your beloved Bruins when you sign up for our 100% FREE newsletter that comes straight to your email with the latest news. SIGN UP HERE NOW