UCLA Basketball: Mick Cronin Reveals What The Bruins Must Improve To End Games

Your UCLA Bruins men's basketball team isn't that far off from being a consistent contender this season. While their record doesn't exactly reflect that fact, they have played tough against some of the better teams in the nation.

The issue for the Bruins has been their inability to close out games in the end. Their inexperience at the college level has shown quite a bit this season, and it's cost them some big wins.

Head coach Mick Cronin knows that they need to improve in how they finish out games. His solution is to make sure that the players don't get as fatigued down the stretch of the game.

"We can’t impose our will. Really, really good teams get better in the second half. We get worse. The only way to solve that is to be deeper," Cronin said. "As soon as the guys we got out there start to get fatigued, we can’t get stops."

Per UCLA's official X/Twitter account

UCLA may have to stagger minutes as the games go along to keep their best guys fresh for the closing minutes. It seems to be the only solution to helping this team get over the hump moving forward.

They are close, and it's been reflected in how they've played. But close can only get them so far. If they want to reach their goals this season, they will need to find a way to reach that next gear.

All these ups and downs could end up being good for this UCLA squad, as it will teach them how to handle adversity. We are still early into the new college basketball season, but things will need to change quickly for this team.

Don't forget to join our community at LA Sports Report, where we celebrate all things Bruins!