Mick Cronin explains why he tried to get ejected vs. Maryland

Frustration boiled over for UCLA Bruins head coach Mick Cronin during the team’s most recent loss to Maryland and he ended up getting ejected from the game.

Following the game, while speaking to media members, Cronin shared that he was trying to get ejected at that point. He had a relatively simple goal in mind, though, and that was to send a message to his struggling team that he had their backs in the face of what he saw as poor officiating.

“I tried to get thrown out,” Mick Cronin said. “I wanted — I had enough. I sent a message. So, I’m tired of it. I know that we’re the outsider – us, USC and Oregon, but that was ridiculous. And that doesn’t take anything away from Maryland. They’re a very good team at home. But, I’ve got to defend my players. If you can just mug guys, chop their arms off, and throw them out of the way, it’s hard to run any offense.”

Mick Cronin is given a technical and ejected from the game pic.twitter.com/nRSeYSDc5y

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At the time that Mick Cronin was ejected, it was a nine-point game with just over five minutes remaining in the game. He made a trip right to the locker room. Meanwhile, the Bruins lost any chance for a comeback and fell to Maryland by a score of 79-61.

While Cronin took exception to how the game was officiated, he also acknowledged that it was far from the only issue that UCLA had. He also has seen his team regress in other aspects of the game, notably on defense.

“That being said, there are other things,” Cronin said. “Defensively, we have regressed… I kind of addressed that the other night. It’s a mindset, it’s a mindset with all teams and all players. It’s a mindset. You have to be totally — to be a great defensive team, you have to be totally committed to it. It’s not easy, especially on the road.”

Mick Cronin went on to clarify that while the sequence was confusing, he was tossed in the moment when he was walking off. He was also critical of the officiating throughout the game, but particularly in the second half where he feels his team wasn’t given a chance to win by the officials.

“In defense of my guys, I didn’t think we were given any chance to win in the second half,” Cronin said. “I let [referee] Jeff Anderson and I hit the showers. I told him, ‘You’ve got to give us a chance. You’re not giving us a chance to win.’”

UCLA has now lost three games in a row in Big Ten play. That has dropped the Bruins to 2-3 in conference play this season and 11-5 on the season overall. This comes in a season that looked promising through the month of December, with the Bruins adding wins over several big-name opponents, like North Carolina, Arizona, and Gonzaga in non-conference play.

Now, Mick Cronin and UCLA are going to quickly look for a way to turn things around with another Big Ten game on Monday against Rutgers.