UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin is constantly asking for more.
When UCLA loses, he’s unhappy – no breaking news there – but even after some UCLA wins, it’s easy to tell Cronin’s tone isn’t filled with glee if the Bruins aren’t playing to his liking.
He was irritated after UCLA’s narrow win over USC in early January and he wasn’t thrilled about Thursday night’s 70-61 win over Washington at Pauley Pavilion.
“We gotta get back to playing well,” the fourth-year coach said. “Eighteen turnovers, to me, is like 25 turnovers to other coaches. Beyond unacceptable. Our two supposed best players had nine turnovers (combined), and all of them unforced.”
Cronin was talking about Tyger Campbell’s five turnovers and Jaime Jaquez Jr.’s four, despite Jaquez notching a double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds.
“We had 10 turnovers in the second half,” Jaquez said. “When you do that, it allows teams to get back into the game. We need to do a better job of taking care of the ball.”
The turnovers have been a trend for the Bruins the past two games. Last week’s loss to USC saw UCLA give the ball away (13) more than its opponent for the first time this season and Thursday night’s 18 turnovers was a season high.
“Turnovers do happen over the course of a game, but when you’re throwing passes at peoples’ feet and Nolan Ryan fastballs off the glass, you think you’re going to win anyway and screwing around,” Cronin said. “In doing that, all you do is make yourself look bad – really bad.”
UCLA (18-4, 9-2 Pac-12), which is ranked No. 9 in the country, will look to dial back on the negative trend when it hosts Washington State (10-14, 5-8) at 4 p.m. Saturday at Pauley Pavilion.
The Cougars fell to USC 80-70 on Thursday night at the Galen Center.
There were some positives UCLA can take from its win over Washington, like the play of its freshmen. Amari Bailey was back in the starting lineup and notched 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting with three assists in 24 minutes.
“It felt great,” Bailey said of being back on the floor in his second game back after missing seven in a row. “Just being able to hoop again with the guys and help the team win most importantly.”
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Adem Bona tallied 10 points and eight rebounds with two blocks. Dylan Andrews had three points and three assists in 10 minutes.
Bailey and Bona have created a good chemistry since being teammates in Westwood.
“We’ve been looking forward to playing together since high school,” Bona said. “We met a couple times at camps and talked about how it’s going to be fun playing together. I feel like we have a pretty good bond.”
Washington State (10-14, 5-8) at No. 9 UCLA (18-4, 9-2)
When: 4 p.m. Saturday
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV/Radio: Pac-12 Network/AM 1150