Mick Cronin on UCLA attendance: 'I appreciate the people that come'

Mick Cronin loves when a UCLA basketball crowd is sold out, loud and energetic at home. However, the Bruins don’t always get that.

Maybe they will the rest of the way considering Cronin’s turned the team around to get up to 14-11 on the season, beating Colorado 64-60. It’s now six wins in a row.

But the head coach can’t control who shows and who doesn’t. He’ll appreciate the support from those who do make the trek to the arena.

“I’d love to see every crowd sold out,” Cronin said. “But here’s the difference between me and people … I appreciate the people that come and I focus on them. I think the problem in the world is the squeaky wheel gets the oil way too much. So I’m thankful for everybody that’s here. I love them. I appreciate it. I hope I see them on Sunday.”

Cronin referred to another home game Sunday against Utah before February 24th against USC, also at home. The Bruins have just six games remaining, but only one ranked opponent: No. 5 Arizona which also comes to UCLA.

It’s not inconceivable to think the Bruins can’t win five of six or just win out with the way they’re playing.

“Well, we made it interesting,” Cronin said of the win over Colorado. “Colorado’s got a really, really good ball club. I have all the respect in the world for Tad Boyle as a coach. They hurt us with the back door, they hurt us with a couple of curls. We gave up some uncharacteristic layups that were really, really bad for my health. Dr. Ben Ansel at UCLA Medical is probably really concerned with me right now because he’s a big fan, if you were watching me. I don’t take too kindly with us breaking down with layups. But I also give them credit for that.” 

Cronin added what made the difference for UCLA in the end.

“At the end of the day, [Sebastian Mack] got us a few buckets, we ran a play for Lazar [Stefanovic] – he hit a big three on an off-night for him,” Cronin said. “But we got eight more shots than them, we’re plus nine on turnover margin and plus four on the offensive rebound margin.

“They had zero fast break points. They’re a top 30 team in the country on fast break points. I still think we’ve got to get better on offense so we can get away from people. But obviously a great win for us. We forced 14 turnovers; we forced nine in the first half. That was big.”