Mick Cronin's first team provided a template for Bruins to embrace

1

PHILADELPHIA — Holding firm for a half, UCLA folded against a tougher opponent in the final minutes. The Bruins’ youth could be seen in repeated mistakes.

The loss dropped the Bruins’ record to 5-3. Their victories included one over Chaminade in the Maui Invitational but none against teams from major conferences.

The year was 2019 … and 2023.

UCLA’s sputtering start to this season is reminiscent of coach Mick Cronin’s first season in Westwood. That team relied heavily on freshmen and sophomores as well, the Bruins struggling for 2½ months before Cronin solidified his rotation and forged a winning identity centered on toughness and defense.

It’s a template the newest batch of baby Bruins could use to help extend Cronin’s streak of taking his teams to 12 consecutive NCAA tournaments going back to his last nine seasons at Cincinnati. (UCLA’s 2019-20 team was widely considered on the bubble before the NCAA tournament was canceled by COVID-19.)

Here are five takeaways from UCLA’s 65-56 loss to Villanova on Friday night that showed once again how much growth remains for this team:

2

Closing time

UCLA's Adem Bona gestures during a loss to Villanova on Saturday.

Cronin pointed to three plays that led to his team’s demise — a failed box-out on a free throw and twice leaving Villanova sharpshooter Brendan Hausen open for three-pointers as the Wildcats closed the game on a 24-11 run.

Cronin neglected to mention another blunder — Adem Bona failing to box out TJ Bamba on an airballed jumper that Bamba snagged in midair for an easy put-back, likely because Cronin said he needed to see a replay to identify who was responsible for the breakdown.

“I take the blame for the box out,” Bona said. “We should be doing better than that as a team.”

These are the types of mistakes UCLA must avoid to win tight games against quality teams given the Bruins’ lack of offensive punch.

“We’re just not tough enough right now,” Cronin said. “Our margin for error isn’t what it has been.”

3

Too-gentle giant?

Standing 6 feet 10 and blessed with freakish athleticism, Bona would figure to be one of the nation’s top rebounders.

He’s barely leading his own team, averaging 6.4 rebounds per game to Lazar Stefanovic’s 6.3. After Bona tallied eight rebounds to go with his 11 points and three blocked shots before fouling out Friday, Cronin noted that two lesser Villanova players grabbed 10 rebounds each.

“If he wants to be who he needs to be, he’s got to get some games with 12 and 15 rebounds — he’s got to go get the ball, man,” Cronin said of Bona. “[He had] multiple chances to be a dominant rebounder and we’re not going to win until that happens; we’re too young everywhere else. He’s got to be an all-league player for us, so I’ve got to figure it out, I’ve got to get him there, I’ve got to get that out of him.”

4

Hustle and flow

Cronin pinned his team’s offensive woes over the last eight minutes on Dylan Andrews becoming sidelined by leg cramps, but the Bruins could be painful to watch for long stretches even before the departure of their sophomore point guard.

Freshman guard Sebastian Mack, the team’s leading scorer, did not log his first points until early in the second half and finished with just six points while making three of 10 shots. Stefanovic led the team with 14 points but made only five of 19 shots.

UCLA’s four-point halftime lead came largely on the strength of making five of 10 three-pointers; the Bruins made just two of nine shots from beyond the arc in the second half. Cronin said the offense staggered because of a lack of ball movement and tempo.

“Our offense was much better when we push the ball and pass the ball,” Cronin said. “When we try to throw one pass and don’t get to the second and third pass, our offense looked terrible, and I would say most coaches would say the same answer.”

5

Giant development

UCLA center Aday Mara holds his mouth open against a basketball.

Freshman center Aday Mara quietly put together one of his best games, finishing with eight points, five rebounds, one block and one steal in 24 minutes.

It was another step forward for proponents of UCLA’s two-bigs lineup that includes Mara and Bona — and could fold in Berke Buyuktuncel once the 6-9 forward returns from an ankle injury.

“It’s a huge adjustment for him, the style and physicality of college basketball,” Cronin said of Mara, who won’t turn 19 until after the season, “but his attitude is great, he’s getting better and fighting through it and he’s got a huge ceiling, he’s got a chance to be a great player. You know, these games, these are wars that’s all new for him.”

6

Big-game hunting

With the Pac-12 fielding only one elite team in unbeaten and top-ranked Arizona, UCLA must bolster its postseason resume as much as possible before entering conference play.

That makes the Bruins’ final three nonconference games practically must-win situations starting with a showdown against Ohio State next weekend in the CBS Sports Classic in Atlanta. UCLA then faces Cal State Northridge and Maryland at home before opening Pac-12 play against Oregon State on Dec. 28.

No one needs to remind the Bruins about the urgency of the situation.

“If we don’t figure it out, we’re not going to be where we want to be,” Stefanovic said. “So, we got to sit down and see and realize — and I think we know what we got to do better. It comes down to going out there and executing and being the toughest team and playing smart and knowing the scouting report and all that stuff. We gotta take our game to the next level as a team, as a group, and everybody individually.”