Even with all the ups and downs the UCLA Bruins have faced this season, things just seem to keep getting worse for head coach Mick Cronin and his team. Friday’s tough loss to the Maryland Terrapins has fans on edge, worrying about the team’s standing in the Big Ten and their overall game. The loss was full of on-court drama, and Cronin didn’t escape some harsh call-outs. So, let’s dive into what analysts are saying about all of this.

Analyst Zach Anderson went off on UCLA’s performance in a recent episode of ‘Locked on UCLA.’ “Whether it’s him[Cronin], whether it’s the team whether it’s all those things combined.. The Bruins are a pathetic unit right now”, said Anderson. This now marks their third straight loss, and even the win before this streak was a nail-biter. To top it all off, Mick Cronin ended up getting ejected by the end of the game. After yelling at the refs and even stepping onto the court for a moment, it certainly cost the head coach.

“..they’re[UCLA] embarrassing.. They were a top 25 team.. They’re going to be gone from the top 25 for the next few weeks until they prove themselves” added Anderson. Their last three losses were all against the Big Ten where they have fallen to a 2-3 position. UCLA was already hovering near the bottom of the AP Top 25 rankings, and after this latest loss, they might be saying goodbye to that list for a while.

“You have the Michigan game, which was just brutal, but this one was just an eyesore”, said Anderson. The Wednesday game against Michigan was a tough one for UCLA fans, with a brutal 94-75 loss that left a mark. Looking ahead, UCLA faces a challenging schedule, with tough matchups against teams like USC and Washington, among others.

“He[Cronin] called them out for being soft and delusional.. All they responded was with one of their worst performances of the year.”, Anderson added to his criticism. The intense head coach has been open about the problems he has with the current roster’s performance. His ejection in their last game wouldn’t have made much of a difference to the final scoreboard and it looks like he knew that. Let’s see what the head coach thinks of the last game.

The moment that fired up Mick Cronin

Cronin’s disappointment for the officials came in the last five minutes of the game. Forward William Kyle III made contact with multiple Terrapins players and ended up losing possession and falling. However, the officials deemed it was not a foul which outraged the UCLA head coach. This is why Cronin directed his anger at the officials instead of his players after this game.

Cronin went on to scream at the referee’s direction and briefly stepping on the court. Cronin was sent off the court with a technical foul. “I wanted out—I’d had enough, to send a message, [that] I’m tired of it,”, said Cronin post-game. Cronin added that the officials’ inaction regarding the opponents’ fouls disappointed him. “I have to defend my players.. If you can just mug guys and chop their arms off throw them out of the way.. It’s hard to run any offense.“, He added.

UCLA is now a team in a desperate need of a rebound. They may be looking at more such one-sided losses if the opponents gets an early lead like in the last game. The Bruins are currently struggling on the offensive part and teams like Maryland can easily take advantage of their miscues by getting to shoot 54% and achieve victories.

Important question is- Will Mick Cronin’s outbursts eventually lead to a spark in UCLA’s performance? Let’s tune in Monday to find out in their next game against Rutgers.