UCLA Basketball: Why Mick Cronin Refuses To Blame Utah Loss On Starter's Early Ejection
UCLA basketball was short of one of their starters early on against Utah last Sunday after Sebastian Mack was ejected from the game halfway through the first period.
Mack, UCLA's leading shooter, was ejected following an unnecessary blow to Utah's Branden Carlson that triggered a flagrant-2 foul.
Even with Mack out of the game early on, UCLA head coach Mick Cronin would not entertain any excuses for the Bruins losing 70-69 to the Utes.
“Excuses are for losers," Cronin said. "It was still five-on-five. I mean, it’s five-on-five. It’s not hockey. They weren’t in a penalty. We got to sub somebody in. We didn’t get the job done. That’s on me. Sure, we would have liked to have him.”
via UCLA Communications.
This is a very Cronin-esque response and one that echoes the accountability Cronin instilled in his team.
Cronin is right though. While the Bruins might have been in a more comfortable position had Mack not been ejected, they still had plenty of opportunities to win the game.
Had it not been for a last-second basket from Utah that sealed the win, UCLA would have taken home another win. Still, the Bruins's mistakes were clear in this loss. UCLA committed 18 fouls — including some uncharacteristic fouls from Adem Bona — which allowed Utah to capitalize for more points.
Utah also surpassed UCLA in shooting and assists. The Utes hit 8% more of their three-point shots and 2.4% more of their attempts from the field. They also gained twice as many assists, with 14 compared to UCLA's seven. Combined, these errors contributed just as much if not more to UCLA's loss than the loss of Mack.
