In the post game interview, Cronin said he apologized to freeny, Williams and jamerson for lack of playing time against Minnesota:
"My excuse was we were scoring and we were winning, and the game was slow and nobody was tired. Our defense was so bad in spite of our shot making, so I should have gotten some guys out and definitely Eric Freeny should have gotten in."
I was thinking that Cronin was going to forget about the seniors and not let them play. They should have gotten in with a minute left. The game was already decided.
Dimitri, great recap and analysis. IMO, the Big10 tournament will be a good barometer for how far this s team can go in the Big Dance. If we hold out last night‘s game as an example of a well executed game plan, then that should be the benchmark going forward. Clearly this team has struggled on the road, and all remaining games from now through end of the season will be “on the road “. One win in the Big Ten tournament would not be considered “success “for this team if they can play to this standard. Getting two wins or even three should be the goal, then seeing where that places them with seeding in the NCAA tournament. From there, we’ll see how well they can play away from home and whether they can play consistently to or at this level.
Because of their inconsistency and unpredictability this season, I think it will be difficult to judge how the Bruins will perform during the postseason, and the Big-10 tourney (and any other conference tourney) is very different from playing in the Big Dance, where the Bruins and their March Madness opponent may not be familiar with each other, and both teams could essentially be playing in a road game in an unfamiliar arena. I also think when the preseason AP #12-ranked team shows up to play, they could be dangerous. Looking forward to the upcoming madness!
I see where you are going with this B4E and agree as to the unpredictability for BOTH SIDES in NCAA Tourney games given that both teams are essentially on the road.....or at least in unfamiliar gyms (it would be great to get into the Western Regional. We seem to play better in our own time zone).
Not a big fan of Conference Tournaments VAJ. It would be cool to make the finals of the Big 18 Tourney, but I would rather we not play 4 games in 4 days right before the NCAA's........As we have seen in our recent past, it just increases the chances of injury (when we could be resting and fine tuning our defensive roles/ rotations).
One thing seems clear in the NCAA's......defense always travels, shot making may not (Final 4 teams over the past 10 years almost exclusively have top 15 defenses). The good news is that while we allowed 98 to Indiana (double OT), 94 to Illinois (OT) and 86 to Michigan, our overall adjusted defensive rating for Conference play of 82.1 (ranked 17th nationally) indicates that we are one of the most efficient defensive units when adjusted for opponent strength and points per minute allowed; and, as Cronin teams do, we are improving towards the end of the season; In fact, our 20-point win over Nebraska was called a "masterclass" in defensive efficiency, by Sports Illustrated (given that we held a top-10 offense significantly below its season average in score, three pointers made below the opposing teams average and especially when considering the quality of opponent and pace of play).
In plain English, when we decide to play defense, we are a very good defensive team and capable of getting to the Sweet 16; offensively, between Bilo, Skyy, Trent, Dent, Daily and now Book, if we are feelin’ it, we could yet surprise this board with a run beyond that…..or, we could end up in the Eastern Regional, “pull a Minnesota” and this Jekyl and Hyde club could take a long ride home, kicking itself for what could have been this year…..fasten your seatbelts (and grab the antacids).
I agree, with conference tournaments there's not much to be gained and a lot to lose (the potential injuries), except when a team is in a must-win situation to secure an automatic bid to the Big Dance. And, yes---no defense, no chance...
The Bruins not only pulled off another Cronin, but they led throughout the entire game, delivered an impressive defensive performance, and didn't need any last-second basket to win it this time. Now that they've virtually secured their ticket to the Big Dance, it's time for them to apply one more beatdown of U$C and earn a double-bye in the Big-10 tourney.
Based on the current Big Ten standings, UCLA would get the #7 seed and a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament. They would most likely play Indiana. That doesn't sound like an easy win.
There are is still a lot of shuffling in the standings and potential tiebreakers left. We should have a little better idea of scenarios after tomorrow on what the bracket could look like.
If the Bruins were to be one-and-done in the conference tourney, then I think it's better that they face a better team to lose to instead of being embarrassed by a team near the bottom of the standings, and if they're able to win just 1 game, the victory over that opponent will look better for the Bruins.
Honestly b4e, it's sad that we are not simply at the top of the BIG and need to talk about relying on other teams to give us a better seeding. My how far we have fallen... 😞
Hi Ms. Tamara, I think the anti-Cronin fever also makes it feel worse... ;-)
The competition in the Big-10 is undoubtedly much tougher than it was in the Pac-12, and the long-distance conference road games still seem to bother the Bruins. I think HC Cronin has to be able to recruit and develop a lot more talent like the women's team in order to be at or near the top of the conference. Not sure if that will happen, as other schools will call out his treatment of players as a reason to avoid UCLA, and his public embarrassment of Jamerson just reinforced that narrative. I think that regrettable incident and his inability to retain Mara have been his biggest blunders this season. But this season still isn't over yet... :-)
Hope you're right---the inconsistency of the Bruins and/or U$C playing for pride and a desire to upset their rivals in front of their home crowd might make it a more competitive game even without their top player (they had a 3-point lead at Washington at halftime).
Nightmare Scenario: Loss vs USC, Ohio State over Indiana
We drop to the #8 seed, 11am CST game likely against Iowa, followed by an 11am CST game against Michigan if we mange to win one
With a win today and a Wisconsin over Purdue, we are the 6 seed, most likely playing the winner of Washington Rutgers, late game all tournament, and a 2nd matchup against most likely Michigan State
With a win today and Purdue over Wisconsin, we are the 7 seed, likely playing the winner of Indiana Northwestern, 5:30 CST game, and a 2nd matchup against most likely Nebraska
In the post game interview, Cronin said he apologized to freeny, Williams and jamerson for lack of playing time against Minnesota:
"My excuse was we were scoring and we were winning, and the game was slow and nobody was tired. Our defense was so bad in spite of our shot making, so I should have gotten some guys out and definitely Eric Freeny should have gotten in."
he's right. He's pulling a Howland.
Agree with Dmitri that freeny has been very good as the 4th guard! He might have been the difference in that Minnesota loss
Roller coaster with a twist. I liked that with 10 seconds left Cronin called time to get senior bench players in.
I was thinking that Cronin was going to forget about the seniors and not let them play. They should have gotten in with a minute left. The game was already decided.
I would blame HC Hoiberg for not pulling his starters earlier---I think he should have just conceded the game at the 2- or 3-minute mark.
Dimitri, great recap and analysis. IMO, the Big10 tournament will be a good barometer for how far this s team can go in the Big Dance. If we hold out last night‘s game as an example of a well executed game plan, then that should be the benchmark going forward. Clearly this team has struggled on the road, and all remaining games from now through end of the season will be “on the road “. One win in the Big Ten tournament would not be considered “success “for this team if they can play to this standard. Getting two wins or even three should be the goal, then seeing where that places them with seeding in the NCAA tournament. From there, we’ll see how well they can play away from home and whether they can play consistently to or at this level.
Because of their inconsistency and unpredictability this season, I think it will be difficult to judge how the Bruins will perform during the postseason, and the Big-10 tourney (and any other conference tourney) is very different from playing in the Big Dance, where the Bruins and their March Madness opponent may not be familiar with each other, and both teams could essentially be playing in a road game in an unfamiliar arena. I also think when the preseason AP #12-ranked team shows up to play, they could be dangerous. Looking forward to the upcoming madness!
I see where you are going with this B4E and agree as to the unpredictability for BOTH SIDES in NCAA Tourney games given that both teams are essentially on the road.....or at least in unfamiliar gyms (it would be great to get into the Western Regional. We seem to play better in our own time zone).
Not a big fan of Conference Tournaments VAJ. It would be cool to make the finals of the Big 18 Tourney, but I would rather we not play 4 games in 4 days right before the NCAA's........As we have seen in our recent past, it just increases the chances of injury (when we could be resting and fine tuning our defensive roles/ rotations).
One thing seems clear in the NCAA's......defense always travels, shot making may not (Final 4 teams over the past 10 years almost exclusively have top 15 defenses). The good news is that while we allowed 98 to Indiana (double OT), 94 to Illinois (OT) and 86 to Michigan, our overall adjusted defensive rating for Conference play of 82.1 (ranked 17th nationally) indicates that we are one of the most efficient defensive units when adjusted for opponent strength and points per minute allowed; and, as Cronin teams do, we are improving towards the end of the season; In fact, our 20-point win over Nebraska was called a "masterclass" in defensive efficiency, by Sports Illustrated (given that we held a top-10 offense significantly below its season average in score, three pointers made below the opposing teams average and especially when considering the quality of opponent and pace of play).
In plain English, when we decide to play defense, we are a very good defensive team and capable of getting to the Sweet 16; offensively, between Bilo, Skyy, Trent, Dent, Daily and now Book, if we are feelin’ it, we could yet surprise this board with a run beyond that…..or, we could end up in the Eastern Regional, “pull a Minnesota” and this Jekyl and Hyde club could take a long ride home, kicking itself for what could have been this year…..fasten your seatbelts (and grab the antacids).
I agree, with conference tournaments there's not much to be gained and a lot to lose (the potential injuries), except when a team is in a must-win situation to secure an automatic bid to the Big Dance. And, yes---no defense, no chance...
The Bruins not only pulled off another Cronin, but they led throughout the entire game, delivered an impressive defensive performance, and didn't need any last-second basket to win it this time. Now that they've virtually secured their ticket to the Big Dance, it's time for them to apply one more beatdown of U$C and earn a double-bye in the Big-10 tourney.
Go Bruins!
Based on the current Big Ten standings, UCLA would get the #7 seed and a double bye in the Big Ten Tournament. They would most likely play Indiana. That doesn't sound like an easy win.
There are is still a lot of shuffling in the standings and potential tiebreakers left. We should have a little better idea of scenarios after tomorrow on what the bracket could look like.
If the Bruins were to be one-and-done in the conference tourney, then I think it's better that they face a better team to lose to instead of being embarrassed by a team near the bottom of the standings, and if they're able to win just 1 game, the victory over that opponent will look better for the Bruins.
Honestly b4e, it's sad that we are not simply at the top of the BIG and need to talk about relying on other teams to give us a better seeding. My how far we have fallen... 😞
Hi Ms. Tamara, I think the anti-Cronin fever also makes it feel worse... ;-)
The competition in the Big-10 is undoubtedly much tougher than it was in the Pac-12, and the long-distance conference road games still seem to bother the Bruins. I think HC Cronin has to be able to recruit and develop a lot more talent like the women's team in order to be at or near the top of the conference. Not sure if that will happen, as other schools will call out his treatment of players as a reason to avoid UCLA, and his public embarrassment of Jamerson just reinforced that narrative. I think that regrettable incident and his inability to retain Mara have been his biggest blunders this season. But this season still isn't over yet... :-)
Looks like we are either a 6 or 7, with a win at USC. I think we can get a 6 seed if Wisconsin beats purdue
Getting the 6 seed along with Washington losing and Minnesota winning would mean Minnesota would be in the play-in game to face us for a rematch.
USC lost 92-71 to Washington tonight (their 6th straight loss). Liking our chances this weekend, especially without their best player
Hope you're right---the inconsistency of the Bruins and/or U$C playing for pride and a desire to upset their rivals in front of their home crowd might make it a more competitive game even without their top player (they had a 3-point lead at Washington at halftime).
Men of Westwood is offering two free tickets to students to turn the Galen Center into Pauley Pavilion. Hope it works!
Is he driving the bus too?:
https://www.facebook.com/UCLAMensBasketball/videos/a-message-to-uclas-students-from-coach-cronin/26223928240600720/
Go Bruins!
All aboard! Word is that 19 buses are departing Westwood and that 1000 students are expected to attend. Go Bruins!
True you never know, but they did fall apart in the 2nd half against UW
Ok guys, rooting guide for this weekend:
Nightmare Scenario: Loss vs USC, Ohio State over Indiana
We drop to the #8 seed, 11am CST game likely against Iowa, followed by an 11am CST game against Michigan if we mange to win one
With a win today and a Wisconsin over Purdue, we are the 6 seed, most likely playing the winner of Washington Rutgers, late game all tournament, and a 2nd matchup against most likely Michigan State
With a win today and Purdue over Wisconsin, we are the 7 seed, likely playing the winner of Indiana Northwestern, 5:30 CST game, and a 2nd matchup against most likely Nebraska