UCLA men’s basketball head coach Mick Cronin sat lost for words. How could he describe his feelings of disappointment and frustration? He no longer could avoid the reality of the broken record his Bruins have become as of late.
The team had allowed a two-point deficit to Stanford at halftime grow to a 74-59 loss. The defeat not only marked the first against the Cardinal at Pauley Pavilion in 15 years, but also gave the Bruins their first losing record since 2016 as they’ve lost six out of their past seven games.
“When the going gets tough, we don’t have a lot of guys that get going,” Cronin said Wednesday following the game. “At the end of the day, I can’t play.”
For the second consecutive game, the Bruins had fallen apart after the first half. It’s a theme that has teased the small crowd of UCLA fans who have shown up for games at Pauley this season.
UCLA (8-9 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) opens the game with a strong hunger and strong energy, yet that all seems to disappear during the short intermission before a second half shows a deflated team unable to stop runs or make offensive drives.
“I sense the pattern of losing,” redshirt sophomore Jalen Hills said. “It sucks. Just going out there every time, it kinda seems inevitable.”
UCLA will get a more evenly matched contest Sunday evening when it hosts California (8-9, 2-2). However, after Cronin stated that his players’ inability to listen will cost them playing time and force him to shuffle lineups, there is no guarantee the Bruins will be able to break their second-half slump.
The Golden Bears haven’t won on the road all season and most recently lost 88-56 at USC on Thursday night. Cal is led by two players averaging double figures in sophomore and San Bernardino native Matt Bradley (17.5 points per game) and graduate senior Kareem South (10.5 ppg).
UCLA, which has lost three in a row, is led by Chris Smith with 12 points per game – the only Bruin averaging more than 10 points a game.
On Wednesday, Cronin debuted a new starting lineup, replacing senior guard Prince Ali with David Singleton.
Yet, the starters didn’t remain in for long as Cronin played 11 players in the first half. He explained the reason for the quick rotations as his excuse to why the team is not succeeding.
“To be honest with you, I had to keep playing certain guys that I don’t even think they deserve to play, but I didn’t want to put others back in so I was running out of guys,” Cronin said.
Singleton and Hill led the team with 32 and 31 minutes, respectively, as two of three players to score more than 10 points. Ali played a season-low two minutes, recording no points and one assist.
“We have guys that don’t listen,” he said. “I told them that I’m done protecting them. We have guys who just refuse to listen and follow orders, so therefore they don’t get to play.”
UCLA (8-9, 1-3) vs California (8-9, 2-2)
When: 5 p.m. Sunday
Where: Pauley Pavilion
TV/ Radio: ESPNU/ AM 570
"looking" - Google News
January 19, 2020 at 04:30AM
https://ift.tt/2ugCSWE
UCLA men take on Cal looking to break losing streak - LA Daily News
"looking" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2tdCiJt
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "UCLA men take on Cal looking to break losing streak - LA Daily News"
Post a Comment