Sorry Dimitri but I was at the game, close to the court, and it was clear that late in the second half that Mara was totally gassed at times. He was walking slowly (like strolling) back to the defensive end after playing offense and Cronin was yelling and motioning him to get back quicker as SC was going to beat him down the court to score. Do not know if the TV cameras showed Cronin yelling and motioning and Mara struggling like that? Was not an offense-defense swap IMHO as Mara was playing both ends far better than Kyle when Mara was not out of gas. Actually, my thought at the time was that Cronin was leaving Mara in too long without giving him a blow. If Cronin had not substituted Kyle and others in a few times to give Mara some rest, Mara would not have been able to retreat quick enough under the basket to play any defense. Kyle was not effective but he did help give Mara the blows he needed to finish the game.
I saw that him motioning to get back, flailing his arms! Mara is definitely not used to playing these type of minutes, but he needs to get a few more blows if they want him to be ready to sustain these extra minutes.
Mick doesn't waste TO's like Howland. And I understand especially in the second half to use them wisely. End of game circumstances sometimes those unused TO's may mean the difference in close games.
But in the first half, before a TV time out, get him out before it happens and then he gets a little extra rest.
Did you see the referee have a chat with Mara? It was during a timeout, tv, or called by either team but he quickly said something to him.
I thought he may have been giving him a heads up about him throwing his hip out on those high screens.
He did that a few times, and right before that chat with the ref he did it. And in honesty he could have been called for a foul. So, I thought if I'm right. That just shows that he's getting some much needed respect from everyone who see this guys growth and the ref might just be trying to help him along.
He has a habit of looking over to Cronin when he gets mugged and he throws his hands up with frustration as he's running back on defense and I'm sure coach sees it but probably says, hey you're not getting calls and its a part of the game! Priority is for you to get back on defense and will discuss this during film time! But you're spot on in your assessment!
Yes, I saw that but did not know what was said. Mara was being mugged a little but he has to get use to that. I was more concerned when he was kicked in the knee and hobble around a bit. Cronin took him out and shortly put him back in and he appeared OK.
Once again, no Bilodeau, no problem--U$C sure made it interesting at the end, but thankfully the Bruins held on to win. It's been quite an entertaining season so far with UCLA finally beating Gonzaga, followed by losing 4 in a row. Great defense, not enough offense. The "soft" and "delusional" public scolding, the anti-Cronin fever, followed by the emergence of Mara, the Bruins shooting better, and winning 4 in a row.
Biggest surprise (a good one!) for me has been Mara. It wasn't too long ago most folks didn't think very highly of him, but now he could be the most impactful Bruin going forward. Wonder if he can eventually become as good as another talented center from Spain, Pau Gasol.
The world is full of sports analysts, Monday morning quarterbacks. Every sports fan with a keyboard now has every right to give their opinions.
It reminds me of the diehard Ohio St. fans who called for Ryan Day to be fired, only to do an about face s few weeks later.
I'm a Celtics fan and the SB Nation site is full of Mazzullo is a bum, it would be nice if we had a coach, etc. They were forever badmouthing Brad Stevens for his failure to get to the finals. Not realizing many of his first 7 seasons, the team would almost completely overhaul the team besides Tatum, Brown and Smart. Endlessly praising guys like Spolestra, Popovich who were good and in his prime with Robinson, Duncan, Ginobli, Parker and company were an excellent franchise but after 7 years wanted Stevens gone. After being made GM , new Ime got then to the finals only to lose after being up 2-1 to the warriors. Then a sex scandal later Mazzulla is named interim coach and gets them a championship in year 2 and now year 3 they're not happy with the 3rd best record in the league. Every loss is a catastrophe!
They also wanted Brown & Tatum split up and traded. It's comical to see the overreaction during the season. The what have you done for me lately mentality. I was banned, in hindsight it save me time and energy of trying to reason with unreasonable "fanatics"!
Misery loves company! I love sports but at the end of the day. I don't let it effect me like when I was young. If the Miami Dolphins lost I was miserable for 6 days until the next game. I just really enjoy the time away from focusing on things that really matter, that few care about.
the Ryan Day comparison is pretty good. Most level headed fans recognize that Cronin is one of the best coaches in the country. If UCLA fired him, he'd immediately be the top candidate by far for coaching vacancies next season and would end up at a blue blood if a job popped up.
I watched some of Mussleman's post game press conference and he seems to be a decent guy. He was a winner a Nevada and Arkansas before SC. So I almost wish Enfield was still their coach. He only had 1 sub .500 season 16-17 at Arkansas, his last on 2023-24. And they didn't fold while being down 12, and a few made free throws and that could have ended with us collasping. But I think Cronin has coached this team well enough to not have that happen routinely.
I know alumni hate SC or SUC as you guys refer to them. I'm not an alum so I'm a little less hateful. I don't like, hate losing recruits to them! Why would so.eine go to a football school for basketball?
With the exception of beating Wisconsin at home, the teams we’ve beaten so far in this 4-game run are simply not that good. Two big tests loom with Michigan State and Oregon this Thursday. At least those will be home games!
I think the past 4 games also provided a team mental reset, more practice, and an overdue acknowledgement of Mara's potential and working him into the rotation. Oregon will of course try to avenge their earlier loss to the Bruins, but I believe beating MSU would add more to UCLA's consideration as a legitimate tournament contender. Per the typical Coach Cronin-led team, I'd expect a couple of grinding/gritty, nail-biting, closely-fought contests (i.e., win ugly or barely lose, maybe with some luck involved in either case). Yes, the home crowd will certainly help.
They have one player with 117 assists and a few other with 25 plus assists. We have a bunch with over 35 to 60 plus assists. O think we've had a better team, as far as distribution. We need Dylan to penetrate more, everyone to try to do it also along with feeding Mara, or Kyle if their bigs are to physical for Mara to be effective. The offense seems to be much better instead of the perimeter passing and forced last second shots that were way to prevalent earlier in the season. Confidence is a huge factor.
They have 1 player averaging 13 pts a game and several ranging from 7.9 to under 10.
We've got 3 over 10 pts game and several averaging from 6 or 7 to under 10. Their 2 losses came to Memphis and Kansas. They beat N. Carolina by 3 in OT 94-91
Many close games in their undefeated conference play only blowing out Minnesota twice. Nebraska, and Washington.
All other games were close.
A 10 point win against Northwestern and all others being 7 point margins and a few very close games. 90-85 against Penn St. And an 80-78 win over Ohio St. both home games.
So they aren't as dominant as I was thinking. If we play up to our potential we have a good shot of giving them their first loss. A good game against Oregon tomorrow would hopefully give us more confidence going into the Tuesday's game with them.
Even a loss, as long as they're competitive I think will keep their confidence at the level it will take to close out our 1st Big 10 season as a success considering the brutal road schedule and a more physical league.
I'm always a little too optimistic, but why not? There's definitely some growth going on. A little mid-season controversy has been a good thing in my opinion.
UCLA Coach Cronin has beaten MSU Coach Izzo before, which was that 86-80 OT victory in the First Four game that started the Bruins' 2021 March Madness run to the Final Four (the Bruins were actually down by 11 at the half). Hoping for another upset on Tuesday, but unfortunately that damn Peacock streaming service is broadcasting the game... :-(
I fondly remember that one. Because as optimistic as I am, I didn't think we'd get past them. But good coaching is underappreciated. And from that point on I was more and more confident that we would beat BYU, Alabama, Michigan, my fear was that we'd lose to the Abilene Christian Cinderella team.
Research a little. Reddit streams. A friend told me a few years ago when I had the NFL package about them. I use (the.streameast.app)
99.9 % of the time it works for the games, Celtics, Dolphins, Orioles, Bruins in hockey and the other Bruins. Apologies if I'm breaking site rules! It's like the old Napster for music.
LeBron was captured on the sidelines using it to watch something during a game he was attending and all the comments were about the site possibly disappearing. But it still works.
I've had this team pegged as a Sweet 16 or Round of 32 team depending on the draw. If if Mara keeps improving, this team has real potential to make a run.
Biggest thing will hinge on Mara’s conditioning and Cronin’s willingness to run the offense through him. He’s too much of a mismatch for us to not run back doors and off ball screens waiting for an easy pass from him.
Current starting line up with Bilodeau at the 5 is undersized and overmatched.
Agree đŸ’¯. Bilo at the 5 needs to be put in the archives. Bilo and Mara or Bilo and Kyle, when Mara needs a break. Mara really opens up the offense and gives us great ball movement with his passing skills.
probably not, but I think if he keeps playing this well, Elite 8 could be a reasonable expectation. Failing to make the sweet 16 would certainly be a disappointment if he keeps playing the way he is. I don't have a huge problem with the roster construction like other. But the problem is everyone is knew. It was almost a total line change, so the team is new to one another and should only improve as they learn to play together.
I do believe the team is finding their identity, both on defense and offense. The offensive flow seems much better overall, and I think Cronin is giving the players more leeway to make a few mistakes. I think they are all playing with more freedom and it is having a positive impact.
Sorry Dimitri but I was at the game, close to the court, and it was clear that late in the second half that Mara was totally gassed at times. He was walking slowly (like strolling) back to the defensive end after playing offense and Cronin was yelling and motioning him to get back quicker as SC was going to beat him down the court to score. Do not know if the TV cameras showed Cronin yelling and motioning and Mara struggling like that? Was not an offense-defense swap IMHO as Mara was playing both ends far better than Kyle when Mara was not out of gas. Actually, my thought at the time was that Cronin was leaving Mara in too long without giving him a blow. If Cronin had not substituted Kyle and others in a few times to give Mara some rest, Mara would not have been able to retreat quick enough under the basket to play any defense. Kyle was not effective but he did help give Mara the blows he needed to finish the game.
I saw that him motioning to get back, flailing his arms! Mara is definitely not used to playing these type of minutes, but he needs to get a few more blows if they want him to be ready to sustain these extra minutes.
Mick doesn't waste TO's like Howland. And I understand especially in the second half to use them wisely. End of game circumstances sometimes those unused TO's may mean the difference in close games.
But in the first half, before a TV time out, get him out before it happens and then he gets a little extra rest.
Did you see the referee have a chat with Mara? It was during a timeout, tv, or called by either team but he quickly said something to him.
I thought he may have been giving him a heads up about him throwing his hip out on those high screens.
He did that a few times, and right before that chat with the ref he did it. And in honesty he could have been called for a foul. So, I thought if I'm right. That just shows that he's getting some much needed respect from everyone who see this guys growth and the ref might just be trying to help him along.
He has a habit of looking over to Cronin when he gets mugged and he throws his hands up with frustration as he's running back on defense and I'm sure coach sees it but probably says, hey you're not getting calls and its a part of the game! Priority is for you to get back on defense and will discuss this during film time! But you're spot on in your assessment!
Yes, I saw that but did not know what was said. Mara was being mugged a little but he has to get use to that. I was more concerned when he was kicked in the knee and hobble around a bit. Cronin took him out and shortly put him back in and he appeared OK.
Mara was gassed.
4th straight victory.
$uc loses America wins
Once again, no Bilodeau, no problem--U$C sure made it interesting at the end, but thankfully the Bruins held on to win. It's been quite an entertaining season so far with UCLA finally beating Gonzaga, followed by losing 4 in a row. Great defense, not enough offense. The "soft" and "delusional" public scolding, the anti-Cronin fever, followed by the emergence of Mara, the Bruins shooting better, and winning 4 in a row.
Biggest surprise (a good one!) for me has been Mara. It wasn't too long ago most folks didn't think very highly of him, but now he could be the most impactful Bruin going forward. Wonder if he can eventually become as good as another talented center from Spain, Pau Gasol.
Go Bruins!
The demise of Cronin was greatly exaggerated.
The world is full of sports analysts, Monday morning quarterbacks. Every sports fan with a keyboard now has every right to give their opinions.
It reminds me of the diehard Ohio St. fans who called for Ryan Day to be fired, only to do an about face s few weeks later.
I'm a Celtics fan and the SB Nation site is full of Mazzullo is a bum, it would be nice if we had a coach, etc. They were forever badmouthing Brad Stevens for his failure to get to the finals. Not realizing many of his first 7 seasons, the team would almost completely overhaul the team besides Tatum, Brown and Smart. Endlessly praising guys like Spolestra, Popovich who were good and in his prime with Robinson, Duncan, Ginobli, Parker and company were an excellent franchise but after 7 years wanted Stevens gone. After being made GM , new Ime got then to the finals only to lose after being up 2-1 to the warriors. Then a sex scandal later Mazzulla is named interim coach and gets them a championship in year 2 and now year 3 they're not happy with the 3rd best record in the league. Every loss is a catastrophe!
They also wanted Brown & Tatum split up and traded. It's comical to see the overreaction during the season. The what have you done for me lately mentality. I was banned, in hindsight it save me time and energy of trying to reason with unreasonable "fanatics"!
It sounds more than unreasonable. It sounds like they have mental problems. đŸ¤£
they just really like being unhappy.
Misery loves company! I love sports but at the end of the day. I don't let it effect me like when I was young. If the Miami Dolphins lost I was miserable for 6 days until the next game. I just really enjoy the time away from focusing on things that really matter, that few care about.
the Ryan Day comparison is pretty good. Most level headed fans recognize that Cronin is one of the best coaches in the country. If UCLA fired him, he'd immediately be the top candidate by far for coaching vacancies next season and would end up at a blue blood if a job popped up.
I watched some of Mussleman's post game press conference and he seems to be a decent guy. He was a winner a Nevada and Arkansas before SC. So I almost wish Enfield was still their coach. He only had 1 sub .500 season 16-17 at Arkansas, his last on 2023-24. And they didn't fold while being down 12, and a few made free throws and that could have ended with us collasping. But I think Cronin has coached this team well enough to not have that happen routinely.
I know alumni hate SC or SUC as you guys refer to them. I'm not an alum so I'm a little less hateful. I don't like, hate losing recruits to them! Why would so.eine go to a football school for basketball?
I was elated with the Bruin win and especially being spared seeing Muss rip his shirt off. lol
Ahhhh yes, I remember the shirt 'rip off' đŸ¤£
i stopped listening to them once i realized one of their main critiques was that he yells at players.
With the exception of beating Wisconsin at home, the teams we’ve beaten so far in this 4-game run are simply not that good. Two big tests loom with Michigan State and Oregon this Thursday. At least those will be home games!
I think the past 4 games also provided a team mental reset, more practice, and an overdue acknowledgement of Mara's potential and working him into the rotation. Oregon will of course try to avenge their earlier loss to the Bruins, but I believe beating MSU would add more to UCLA's consideration as a legitimate tournament contender. Per the typical Coach Cronin-led team, I'd expect a couple of grinding/gritty, nail-biting, closely-fought contests (i.e., win ugly or barely lose, maybe with some luck involved in either case). Yes, the home crowd will certainly help.
Go Bruins!
They have one player with 117 assists and a few other with 25 plus assists. We have a bunch with over 35 to 60 plus assists. O think we've had a better team, as far as distribution. We need Dylan to penetrate more, everyone to try to do it also along with feeding Mara, or Kyle if their bigs are to physical for Mara to be effective. The offense seems to be much better instead of the perimeter passing and forced last second shots that were way to prevalent earlier in the season. Confidence is a huge factor.
They have 1 player averaging 13 pts a game and several ranging from 7.9 to under 10.
We've got 3 over 10 pts game and several averaging from 6 or 7 to under 10. Their 2 losses came to Memphis and Kansas. They beat N. Carolina by 3 in OT 94-91
Many close games in their undefeated conference play only blowing out Minnesota twice. Nebraska, and Washington.
All other games were close.
A 10 point win against Northwestern and all others being 7 point margins and a few very close games. 90-85 against Penn St. And an 80-78 win over Ohio St. both home games.
So they aren't as dominant as I was thinking. If we play up to our potential we have a good shot of giving them their first loss. A good game against Oregon tomorrow would hopefully give us more confidence going into the Tuesday's game with them.
Even a loss, as long as they're competitive I think will keep their confidence at the level it will take to close out our 1st Big 10 season as a success considering the brutal road schedule and a more physical league.
I'm always a little too optimistic, but why not? There's definitely some growth going on. A little mid-season controversy has been a good thing in my opinion.
UCLA Coach Cronin has beaten MSU Coach Izzo before, which was that 86-80 OT victory in the First Four game that started the Bruins' 2021 March Madness run to the Final Four (the Bruins were actually down by 11 at the half). Hoping for another upset on Tuesday, but unfortunately that damn Peacock streaming service is broadcasting the game... :-(
Can get a 7 day free trial on Peacock.
I fondly remember that one. Because as optimistic as I am, I didn't think we'd get past them. But good coaching is underappreciated. And from that point on I was more and more confident that we would beat BYU, Alabama, Michigan, my fear was that we'd lose to the Abilene Christian Cinderella team.
Mick won me over as a fan from that point on.
Research a little. Reddit streams. A friend told me a few years ago when I had the NFL package about them. I use (the.streameast.app)
99.9 % of the time it works for the games, Celtics, Dolphins, Orioles, Bruins in hockey and the other Bruins. Apologies if I'm breaking site rules! It's like the old Napster for music.
LeBron was captured on the sidelines using it to watch something during a game he was attending and all the comments were about the site possibly disappearing. But it still works.
I've had this team pegged as a Sweet 16 or Round of 32 team depending on the draw. If if Mara keeps improving, this team has real potential to make a run.
Are you thinking Final 4 is a real possibility if Mara becomes consistently a dominant player?
Biggest thing will hinge on Mara’s conditioning and Cronin’s willingness to run the offense through him. He’s too much of a mismatch for us to not run back doors and off ball screens waiting for an easy pass from him.
Current starting line up with Bilodeau at the 5 is undersized and overmatched.
Agree đŸ’¯. Bilo at the 5 needs to be put in the archives. Bilo and Mara or Bilo and Kyle, when Mara needs a break. Mara really opens up the offense and gives us great ball movement with his passing skills.
Mara also doesn't really have to jump to get rebounds and block shots. :-)
Glad he stayed this season and hope he comes back for his junior year as well.
probably not, but I think if he keeps playing this well, Elite 8 could be a reasonable expectation. Failing to make the sweet 16 would certainly be a disappointment if he keeps playing the way he is. I don't have a huge problem with the roster construction like other. But the problem is everyone is knew. It was almost a total line change, so the team is new to one another and should only improve as they learn to play together.
I do believe the team is finding their identity, both on defense and offense. The offensive flow seems much better overall, and I think Cronin is giving the players more leeway to make a few mistakes. I think they are all playing with more freedom and it is having a positive impact.
Anyone know if bilodeau is coming back tonight?
Read online we might see T-Bill tonight