In the paint or from long range, UCLA men can’t stop Michigan when needed
The fun for UCLA lasted about five minutes. What came before and after was demoralizing.
First, the Bruins had no answer for Michigan’s interior dominance, Vladislav Goldin dunking on one player after another.
Then, after a massive comeback pushed the Bruins into a brief lead Tuesday night, they could not stop the Wolverines from long range.
If their worst loss of the season wasn’t enough, the No. 22 Bruins’ 94-75 setback against No. 24 Michigan at Pauley Pavilion dropping them to .500 in Big Ten play, their coach provided a cold coda by calling them “soft” and “delusional” afterward.
As part of a lengthy rant similar to ones he’s delivered in past seasons, Mick Cronin said his players weren’t tough enough and questioned why he had more drive to win than anyone else on his roster or coaching staff.
“I have to run on the court to get guys to play hard,” Cronin said. “It’s crazy, you know? And it’s every day. I’m tired of it. It’s every day. I have the most energy of anybody at practice every day, I’m upset with everybody in that locker room — my assistant coaches and my players.
“I mean, I don’t need to do anything else. I’ve almost got 500 wins, I’m only 53. You’d think I’m coaching the Lakers. I mean, it’s a joke. Again, I come in and I have more passion and energy and pride than everybody in there and that’s the problem.”
Energy wasn’t an issue for his team early in the second half.
Having trailed by 18 late in the first half, UCLA (11-4, 2-2 Big Ten) surged into a 55-51 lead six minutes into the second half by ratcheting up its defensive intensity and making two three-pointers after missing its first nine.
A season-high crowd of 11,121 was roaring when Bruins forward Eric Dailey Jr. followed a putback with an old-fashioned three-point play on a layup in which he was fouled after teammate Dylan Andrews came up with a steal.
But UCLA fell into an extended cold spell, going without a field goal for more than five minutes. Michigan followed a 7-0 run with a 6-0 push to take a 76-64 lead, and Wolverines fans soon overtook the quiet arena with “Lets go blue!” chants.
Cronin criticized guards Sebastian Mack and Kobe Johnson for having rebounds ripped away from them when they had inside position and pinned Michigan’s first 12 points on forward Tyler Bilodeau for repeatedly getting dunked on by Goldin and failing to communicate on screens that led to three-pointers.
In the second half, Cronin said, Andrews and forward William Kyle III failed to challenge Michigan’s Tre Donaldson on three-pointers after being told in a timeout not to let him shoot. Donaldson made four of six three-pointers in the second half and finished with 20 points for the Wolverines (12-3, 4-0).
Those breakdowns were part of a bigger problem, according to Cronin.
“We’ve got guys who think they’re way better than they are. They’re nice kids. They’re completely delusional about who they are, and the team that’s mind is on the right stuff and hungry to get a win in conference play is the team that’s probably going to win,” Cronin said. “So right now, if this wasn’t the humble pie they needed, I don’t know. But why wasn’t the Nebraska game?”
The Bruins received quality minutes against the Cornhuskers from 7-foot-3 Aday Mara and among other things could benefit from giving him more playing time.
The narrative that the Bruins lost to the Cornhuskers because they made only 14.3% of their three-pointers was false, Cronin said, pinning the defeat on his team’s “embarrassing” second-half defense that surrendered 42 points.
That lack of resistance continued against the Wolverines, who scored 47 points in each half and shot 61.5% for the game while making 15 of 28 three-pointers (53.6%).
Michigan’s domination started at tipoff, the 7-foot-1 Goldin easily beating Bilodeau for the jump ball and drawing a foul on his Bruins counterpart only 47 seconds into the game. Goldin soon dunked on Bilodeau on back-to-back plays, including one in which he knocked him to the court and flexed.
“I can’t let that happen,” said the 6-9 Bilodeau, who gave up four inches and 20 pounds in the matchup. “Obviously, he’s got some size on me, but that’s inexcusable.”
There was no shame in getting beat by Goldin considering he scored on nearly every defender on the way to 21 of his career-high 36 points by halftime while making nine of 11 shots, including four dunks. Cronin tried a variety of lineups, replacing Bilodeau with 7-3 center Aday Mara and briefly playing Bilodeau alongside Mara.
The supersized lineup seemed to briefly stabilize the Bruins before Cronin yanked Mara after he missed a tip-in and got dunked on by Goldin. Mara did not return for the balance of the first half and played only eight minutes.
UCLA did not come close to keeping pace with Michigan’s offensive efficiency, shooting 41.7%, making two of 20 three-pointers (10%) and missing 11 free throws. Bilodeau and Mack led the team with 17 points apiece.
Dailey, who scored 13 points in his return from a one-game absence caused by a facial injury, pushed back when relayed his coach’s message about the Bruins lacking toughness.
“I know we’re not soft,” Dailey said. “I’m definitely not soft. The man next to me [Bilodeau] is not soft. Those guys in the locker room are not soft. They’re just words. Right now, we gotta show [Cronin] that we’re tough. So it’s our mission, to fight. It’s all we can do.”
Cronin said he was worried about this sort of letdown given a punishing December schedule that included games against Oregon, Arizona, North Carolina and Gonzaga.
So where does he go from here after his team dropped consecutive games for the first time?
“Here’s what you do: You play the guys that will play hard and do what you tell them,” Cronin said. “But right now, I’m searching deeply for some guys that will play hard enough to win a Big Ten game.”
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