UCLA head coach Mick Cronin is sick and tired of college basketball officials in the Big Ten. He intentionally got himself thrown out of Friday’s game against Maryland just three days after he trashed his players on a public forum.
Needless to say, it has been a wild week for the two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year.
Cronin called his team “soft” and “delusional” after a loss to Michigan on Tuesday. His brutal airing of grievances used a lot of “I” and not a lot of “we.” The 53-year-old refused to take any accountability for how he is getting his team prepared. The loss was entirely the fault of his players and his staff, not him.
To make those kinds of comments in a private film session or in the locker room would not be an issue. To make those kinds of comments during a press conference, with cameras watching, is a wild approach.
Maybe the players will respond to Cronin’s criticism. He knows his team better than all of the various fans and analysts with opinions. However, UCLA lost on the road at Maryland on Friday in its first game back.
The Bruins committed 20 turnovers and failed to execute on defense while the Terrapins shot 54% from the field. They could not get the job done and dropped to 11-5.
Mick Cronin was also ejected from the contest with five minutes left during the second half. He claims it was on purpose because he wanted to make a statement about the officiating.
The lobbying started during a timeout with a little more than eight minutes left in the game. Cronin thought his players were being held and voiced his displeasure to referee Jeffrey Anderson.
That continued over the next few minutes.
— – (@Spicoli_____) January 11, 2025
Anderson finally had enough with 5:11 remaining so he sent Cronin to the locker room early. The crowd at the Xfinity Center went wild.
Mick Cronin is given a technical and ejected from the game pic.twitter.com/nRSeYSDc5y
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) January 11, 2025
When asked about the ejection after the 18-point loss, Cronin claimed it was intentional. He wanted to direct attention to the poor officiating in the Big Ten.
I don’t remember the last time I had a technical. I had enough. I’m sending a message. I’m tired of it. I know we’re the outsider [in the Big Ten] and all that — us, SC and Oregon — but that was ridiculous.
And take nothing away from Maryland, a really good team at home, but you got to defend my players. If you can just mug guys and chop their arms off, throw them out of the way, it’s hard to run any offense.
— Mick Cronin
Here is his postgame interview in its entirety:
For Mick Cronin to bash his players on Tuesday and then turnaround and leave those players to fend for themselves just three days later is not a great look. Even if he was actually trying to stand up for his guys, it creates questionable optics for the program in Westwood. From an outsider’s perspective, UCLA looks like it is very quickly crashing and burning. Perhaps the Bruins see things differently on the inside.