UCLA Basketball: Mick Cronin Lays Out Biggest Problem From Awful Loss at WSU
UCLA basketball suffered another loss on Saturday, with this one coming 77-65 to Washington State. The Bruins have fallen off as the regular season comes to a close, having now lost their last four games.
In this game, UCLA head coach Mick Cronin called their defensive backboard one of the primary reasons for the loss.
"Our frontline has to be better on the glass. You get in games like this against a top-20 team on the road. All of our great effort, all your great defensive effort goes for naught if you can't control the defensive backboard. It just breaks your back, and then you end up getting a foul, or they end up hitting a three, because you can't control your backboard. That was the difference in the game. If you can't control your defensive backboard, it negates all of your effort, hustle and good defense. It's just demoralizing. That's our biggest problem. That's what got us beat, without question."
In particular, the Bruins struggled to notch rebounds against Washington State. The Cougars reeled in 39 rebounds, compared to just 24 for UCLA.
Along with rebounds, Washington State heavily benefitted from fouls UCLA's fouls. The Bruins committed 24 fouls during the game, allowing Washington State to attempt 33 free throws, from which they earned 24 points.
Even though UCLA finished the game with a higher shooting percentage, this difference in rebounding and fouls turned out to be a primary factor in the outcome.
The Bruins will have two last chances to rebound from this in the regular season, against Arizona and Arizona State next week.
