Bruins' Cronin Running Off the Rails Through Recent Struggles

The past week and a half has been utter devastation for the No. 22 UCLA Bruins (11-5) and head coach Mick Cronin has not done his team any favors during their struggles of a current three-game losing streak. What has transpired over the past two games is very concerning for Cronin.

The Bruins have lost four of their last five games, including three straight to Big Ten opponents, dropping their conference record to 2-3 on the season. The 19-point loss to the No. 24 Michigan Wolverines is what seemed to be the start of Cronin's massive frustrations and antics.

Following the loss to the Wolverines, Cronin had some choice words for his own team and coaching staff. He addressed his players as "soft" and "delusional," putting on one of the most eyebrow-raising postgame pressers in the recent history of any collegiate sport.

"We got guys that think they're way better than they are," Cronin said after the Michigan loss. "They're nice kids, they're completely delusional about who they are and the team that's mind is on the right stuff and hungry to get a win in conference play is the team that's probably going to win. If this wasn't the humble pie they needed, I don't know."

Cronin's comments made national headlines and were just the start of what would unfold over the next few days. The Bruins quickly got back to action on Friday night, failing to bounce back and respond to their coach's comments in another brutal conference loss to the Maryland Terrapins (12-4).

With just over five minutes to play with the Bruins trailing by nine points, Cronin was ejected from the game after continuing to be vocal and animated toward the officials. They finally had enough when Cronin stepped onto the floor during a play and was asked to leave the arena.

More postgame comments came from Cronin that turned some heads and seemed quite confusing after being tossed out.

"I tried to get thrown out, I wanted out, I had enough," he said. "I'm sending a message. I'm tired of it. I know that we’re the outsider – us, SC and Oregon, but that was ridiculous. And that doesn’t take anything away from Maryland. They’re a very good team at home. But I’ve got to defend my players. If you can just mug guys, chop their arms off and throw them out of the way, it is hard to run any offense.

It is completely understandable to be frustrated with officiating and being the new kids on the block in the Big Ten, it makes sense that they would not be the team getting the favorable calls. Regardless, it seems quite concerning that Cronin 'wanted' to get thrown out of the game.

Not to mention that the nine-point deficit instantly turned to an 18-point loss after Cronin left the floor, and the Terrapin crowd went bananas. It felt like Cronin quit on his team and was frustrated to the point of just wanting to be done with the game and move on to the next.

If the players are still out there fighting for each and every possession, Cronin should as well. There is no excusable reason to intentionally be tossed from a game because a head 'had enough' of the officiating. There may be more to the situation, but at face value, it looks extremely worrisome.

The Bruins need a bounce-back win in the worst way as they travel to play the Rutgers Scarlett Knights (8-8) on Monday night. It will be telling to see what the future holds for this Bruins team, not only by their performance but the behavior and postgame remarks from their head coach.

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