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LOS ANGELES — Mick Cronin despises this era of basketball. The one in which trainers teach kids to “dribble the leather out of the ball,” the one that allowed transfer Kobe Johnson to enjoy his senior night against the program that he played for during his first three seasons in college.
It’s the antithesis of everything Cronin believes in as a coach and, more so, a basketball mind.
Yet, he hasn’t left college basketball behind like so many of his peers have. He’s maintained the same philosophies. He’s used the transfer portal to seek unorthodox players that fit his defense-first mindset. And he’s ingrained those ideals into his disciples whether they like it or not.
“We’re at a defensive school,” forward Eric Dailey Jr. said. “We got a defensive coach; you gotta play defense to play.”
When Cronin heard that Dailey’s 25 points on Saturday were a career high, he said he was more concerned with — and proud of — his nine deflections.
Cronin, more so, praised UCLA’s collective effort on the defensive side as the catalyst for its 90-63 win over USC to close out the regular season. The Bruins racked up 46 deflections, their most in a Big Ten game, turning the Trojans over 20 times and scoring 37 points off those turnovers.
Skyy Clark led the team with 13 deflections and scored 17 points, shooting 7 of 10 from the field. It was a performance that inspired Cronin to look to the future and say, “if we get guard-play like that, we got a chance.”
Cronin, too, was pleased with UCLA’s 42-to-16 advantage in points in the paint.
“I thought our focus was unbelievable,” he said. “Defensively, we made it extremely hard on them. Skyy had a monster game and our frontline was extremely impressive.”
The Bruins could have boosted their overall resume had they pulled out a nip-and-tuck victory, which would have kept their win at USC (15-16, 5-13) on Jan. 27 in Quad 1. Instead, they sent an end-to-end, tip-to-finish statement to their crosstown rival that will surely place that previous victory into Quad 2. Saturday’s win, however, along with Wisconsin’s loss to Penn State earlier today, reward UCLA with the double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament. A development Cronin referred to as “the best news of the day” because it gives the Bruins added rest.
That was also a contributing factor to Saturday’s win as the Bruins hadn’t played since Monday, giving them time off, and to prepare a sound game plan for the rematch with USC.
The Trojans struggled to move the ball and penetrate UCLA’s suffocating defense. Part of the Bruins’ game plan was to limit drives from USC guards Desmond Claude and Wesley Yates. Clark took that to heart, drawing offensive fouls against each of them in the first half.
“Just watching their scout, I could pick up on their tendencies,” Clark said, speaking like a true clone of Cronin.
Claude, the Trojans’ leading scorer, couldn’t overcome Clark’s peskiness. Yates accepted his fate and settled for 3-pointers, knocking down three in the first half to keep USC in it. Yates led USC with 21 points and earned high praise from Cronin, who referred to the freshman as the Trojans’ best player.
The Bruins ended the half on an 11-4 run as Dailey answered Yates’ third 3-pointer with a triple of his own. Aday Mara followed that with a layup, then Dailey drove the baseline, tossed a wild pass to Dylan Andrews, who saved the play by dishing it to Clark for a corner 3. Mara added three more points, trickling in an and-one hook-shot that inspired one of the loudest cheers in Pauley Pavilion this season, while Dailey broke into a rock-the-baby dance.
UCLA started the second half on a 13-3 run as Andrews dribbled into a right-wing three that pushed the lead to 50-30. Dailey scored eight of the next 11 points, including a pair of 3s and a transition layup.
Sebastian Mack scored all 10 of his points in the second half and threw down a dunk off a steal from Tyler Bilodeau that extended the margin to 33. A 3-pointer from freshman Trent Perry two minutes later gave UCLA a 90-54 lead, its largest of the night.
The Trojans ended the game on a nine-point run. Trailing by 20-plus points for most of the second half, USC head coach Eric Musselman unloaded his bench, subbing in freshman Jalen Shelley and reserve guard Clark Slajchert, who scored nine second-half points.
The Bruins have had games like Saturday’s — ones Cronin refers to as “complete 40-minute performances” — such as their two wins over Oregon, their neutral-site wins against Gonzaga and No. 24 Arizona, as well as their victory over Big Ten regular-season champion No. 8 Michigan State.
UCLA had won 10 of its last 13 contests entering Saturday, but Cronin felt it hadn’t played a complete game since that 63-61 win over the Spartans on Feb. 4.
“This is the basketball that we know we can play,” Dailey said.
“This was our most complete game,” Clark added.
The Bruins’ regular-season finale was a product of what they’ve been building toward. An impressive one at that, as Cronin was quick to offer a reminder that “(the Bruins’) defensive leader (Kobe Johnson)” has been with him for just eight months. But that’s the reality of college basketball in 2025. Lessons are taught over months, not years, with the hope that they become habits by March. It doesn’t click for every pieced-together group, but it might be for the Bruins at the perfect time.
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