Mick Cronin praises UCLA's resiliency after Colorado win

UCLA has been firing on all cylinders to earn their 16-2 record and Top-5 ranking. However, it hasn’t always come easy against tough competition or conference opponents. Still, they’ve found ways to survive and, for that, Mick Cronin gives his guys a ton of credit.

Cronin applauded the Bruin’s resiliency following their latest 68-54 win over Colorado. In the end, he says you just know or you don’t when it comes to your team being ‘tough’ enough to handle the schedule and, from what he has seen, this season’s UCLA squad fits that mold.

“(I’m) just really proud of their fortitude, their resiliency,” said Cronin. “In 20 years doing this, sometimes you’ve got a team that’s maybe just a year away from being tough enough to do this. I’ve had those kinds of teams.”

“And then, when you have team that you know can do this? They’re old enough, they got enough character, they know how to do it and they’re tough enough to do it? You know when you have a team like that,” Cronin said.

After dropping two straight against Illinois and Baylor, UCLA has run off 13 wins in a row. That includes close wins over Oregon, Kentucky, and Washington State. That also includes a win over USC where they had to hang on in the end as well as their victory over the Buffaloes when they were down as much as nine in the second half.

Time and again, though, the Bruin’s maturity has shined. They’ve proven to be both experienced and talented enough to still come out on top in those high-pressure moments and, come the end of the season, Cronin believes that characteristic could pay off for his team.

Cronin: ‘Teams that defend win championships’

Mick Cronin is leading one of the nation’s hottest teams at the moment. UCLA, winners of 13 straight and owners of the NCAA’s third longest win streak, is getting it done in all kinds of ways. With that said, Cronin made it very clear that the root of the Bruins success is defense.

Cronin shared his thoughts on that element of their run during his postgame press conference after knocking off Colorado by a score of 68-54. He reminded everyone what teams that defend can do, especially ones that adjust from game to game and can do so on any given night.

“Teams that defend win national championships. And they also win NBA titles,” said Cronin. “We try to get out on the break as much as we can. But, the reality is, when you run into real coaches and real teams? You’re not gonna be out on the break all night. You’ve got to be able to win like this.”

“You get to the six-game tournament…and you’ve got to be able to dance to every song they play. Some are slow, some are fast. It ain’t the tango every night, right? You’ve got to be able to win in different ways against different styles,” said Cronin. “It’s not always going to be easy. But, when you defend, you always have a chance.

“Teams that only win when the ball goes in are in the NIT,” Cronin said. “Real programs win when things aren’t going their way. And (when) the kids find a way to make it go their way.”