Mick Cronin reveals what win over Kentucky says about this UCLA team

UCLA secured their seventh straight win of the season on Saturday with a statement victory over No. 13 Kentucky winning 63-53. It’s the Bruins’ second straight victory over a ranked opponent, and head coach Mick Cronin spoke about what their most recent victory says about his squad.

“We know what we’re capable of if we defend and play with the toughness we played with this week,” Cronin said. “When we take care of the ball, we had a few more turnovers than we’re used to tonight, but we’re still plus five in that category, we also rebounded Kentucky by one, so we’ve got enough talent.”

UCLA’s only two losses were early in the season in back-to-back games in the Las Vegas Main Event, where the Bruins fell to Illinois and Baylor. They haven’t lost since, and Cronin spoke on what changed from that moment moving forward for the team.

“But we’ve finally got to a point, it wasn’t that we were selfish, I think sometimes our confidence and our talent early on when we went to Vegas we’re gonna win because we’ve got these players and we pass the ball and we’re unselfish, and you’ve got to be able to defend the other team,” Cronin said.

UCLA’s win over Kentucky was highlighted by a strong defensive performance, holding the Wildcats to a season-low 53 points. The Bruins themselves had a season-low in points too with 63, but that type of game and style of play is one that UCLA feels more than comfortable playing.

“It’s really hard to win if we go and give up 79, 80 to ranked teams, it’s hard to get a lot of points on Kentucky, I mean it just is. They’re so big around the rim, they’re so athletic on the wings, the game becomes a rock fight, bloodbath, whatever you want to call it, it’s just hard to get buckets, so you got to be hard to score on,” Cronin explained.

The Bruins’ defense didn’t let up all night, forcing 18 turnovers and holding Kentucky to a 32.8% field goal percentage on the night. Their defensive effort has paid off for them in a major way in their last few games, and could end up being their calling card and key to success moving forward this season.

“So we’ve got to a point where our guys are embracing that, they know we’re going to go win the game with defense, if we have a great night offensively we’ll win by 20, but we’re gonna win one way or another, and we’ve got to stop the other team,” Cronin said.