Mick Cronin reveals what's different about this Sweet 16 run for UCLA

UCLA coach Mick Cronin has grown quite familiar with the Sweet 16 in recent years. Cronin has led the Bruins to three straight NCAA Tournament regional semifinals and has them prepared to face Gonzaga on Thursday, which is making its eighth straight Sweet 16 appearance.

It is the fourth trip to the round of 16 overall for Cronin, who also led Cincinnati there in 2012. He’ll aim to use that experience to extend UCLA’s stay in the NCAA Tournament to the Elite Eight. With the Bruins set to play in Las Vegas, they should have plenty of support as they attempt to move on.

“I don’t know if anything’s different, other than a couple of years ago we were in a bubble,” Cronin said in a Tuesday press conference. “It’s nice not to have to go to Philadelphia. Nothing against the city of brotherly love, but it’s a long way from LA. So it’s nice to be in the West and hop up to Vegas and hopefully have a lot of Bruins fans there. But every team’s different.”

The Bruins have made it this far in March Madness in spite of injuries to many key players. Starting guard Jaylen Clark suffered an Achilles injury just before the Pac-12 Tournament, ruling him out for the season. UCLA also saw guard David Singleton suffered an ankle injury in the waning seconds of a second round win against Northwestern, putting his status for Thursday in question.

Big man Adem Bona missed the first round with a shoulder injury but returned to play 20 minutes against the Wildcats. Cronin addressed how those injuries have made life difficult on UCLA this March, but added that they’ll still try to find a way to keep winning.

“Obviously our team is much different than it was before Jaylen Clark’s injury, Adem Bona’s injury and now David (Singleton)’s injury,” he said. “You’ve gotta adjust and roll. No time to cry. There’s always a way to win a game, so we’ve got to make sure we’re prepared to find a way to win no matter who plays or doesn’t on Thursday. There’s always a way to win and you’ve only gotta win by one.”

Thankfully for the Bruins, the veteran duo of Jaime Jaquez and Tyger Campbell are still healthy. The pair have combined to average 30.9 points per game this season and have been around for all three of UCLA’s Sweet 16 appearances under Cronin. That includes a Final Four run in 2021 when the Bruins lost to Gonzaga on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in overtime.

With that in mind, UCLA will look to exact its revenge on Drew Timme and the Zags when they tip-off at 6:45 p.m. PT on Thursday. This time, Mick Cronin knows, it’s a different season.