After fourth straight loss, is UCLA even an NCAA Tournament team?

Mick Cronin and the UCLA Bruins have lost four straight and lack the talent necessary to make a serious run, and could fall out of the NCAA Tournament picture.

Heading into December the UCLA Bruins were 5-2 on the season, including a 4-0 record at home with their only losses coming in the Maui Invitational to then No. 4 Marquette (by two points) and then No. 11 Gonzaga (by four points).

Sure the one point win over UC Riverside was less than convincing, but at the time there was little concern Mick Cronin’s very young team, littered with international players, wouldn’t find their way into being a top 25 caliber program and compete for second place in the Pac-12 behind Arizona.

The month of December, however, has been anything but kind to UCLA. The Bruins managed just 56 points against a struggling Villanova squad on the road, and then had a horrible shooting day in an eventual 67-60 loss to Ohio State in Atlanta.

Those two losses in a vacuum are not resume killers, but coming back home and falling to Cal-State Northridge (237th at KenPom) and then again to a seriously struggling Maryland team, who was up by 20 at times and eventually won by nine, is cause for real panic at the Pauley Pavilion.

Currently the Bruins are an astonishing 172nd in the NET rankings, with an 0-4 record in Quad 1 games and 0-1 in Quad 3. They are down to 84 at KenPom, sandwiched between future Big Ten partners Indiana and Minnesota, and have the 151st ranked offense in the country.

Cronin has discussed multiple reasons for this team’s struggles, including a lack of disciplined players which resulted in freshman Sebastian Mack losing his starting role for being late to a meeting, as well as complaints about the school’s lack of NIL funding which made making transfer portal additions a struggle.

If Cronin truly feels he’s incapable of building a roster that can compete heading into the Big Ten, will he jump ship? Could Louisville entice him with an offer this offseason assuming they move on from Kenny Payne? Would being closer to his hometown of Cincinnati get a deal done?

Those are all things worth monitoring this offseason, but for now Cronin and the Bruins have just one objective: right the ship enough to still go dancing in the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

The resume right now is, frankly, nowhere near an at-large bid, but picking up a handful of Quad 1 wins in conference play is certainly possible if this team can find a go-to scorer against teams like Colorado, Arizona State, USC, and of course Arizona.

UCLA has a few days off before heading to Corvallis to take on Oregon State on December 28 followed by Oregon two days later.

Picking up a pair of wins in the state of Oregon may not move the resume needle all that much, but it would at least end the calendar year on a high note for Cronin and the Bruins.

National commentator blasts UCLA basketball’s NIL failures, speculates about Mick Cronin

Doug Gottlieb did not hold back.

The outlook for UCLA basketball gets worse by the day. The Trojans lost their fourth straight game Friday night, and they absorbed a second straight home-court loss at Pauley Pavilion after winning their previous 29 games at home. Maryland — which, by the way, is not having a particularly good season — went into Westwood and handled the Bruins fairly easily, building a 20-point lead and eventually winning by a comfortable nine-point margin, 69-60.

UCLA’s offense is a disaster. The Bruins simply lack high-end scorers and shooters. They don’t have elite talent. This is UCLA basketball we’re talking about, and the Bruins have been very good in recent years. They made the Final Four in 2021. They were a top-four seed in each of the last two NCAA Tournaments. UCLA basketball is not a program we cheer for here at Trojans Wire, but objectively speaking, UCLA has been good, and when UCLA is good in basketball, it should not have any problem landing top talent. Yet, as we noted earlier this week, coach Mick Cronin basically conceded that the Bruins’ NIL operation is deficient and has failed to bring in elite transfers.

Following the Maryland loss, Doug Gottlieb of Fox Sports not only made light of the Bruins’ NIL problems; he said Mick Cronin might get restless as a result. That point might be going too far — we think Cronin loves living in Los Angeles and won’t want out of UCL — but the focus on UCLA’s NIL deficiencies is impossible to ignore right now. It offers a parallel to what USC football is going through, and it’s something we’re going to continue to talk about.

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UCLA basketball coach Mick Cronin claims Bruins are losing battles for elite transfers due to NIL

Mick Cronin is really frustrated with UCLA’s NIL situation.

Just because a public figure says something, that doesn’t mean it is automatically true. However, when a public figure such as the coach of UCLA men’s basketball speaks, every word he says is going to be noticed and picked apart. If the coach chooses to say something in public, he is doing it for a reason. He is doing it because he knows he wants to get a certain reaction and create an intended effect or response.

UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin certainly appears to be expressing his frustration with the Bruins’ NIL operation. He is very clearly suggesting and implying that UCLA is being outspent for top transfer portal prospects. This is an indirect reference to the reality that UCLA is working with a young, inexperienced and — let’s all admit it — not very good team this season.

Cronin’s remarks drew a lot of attention (as intended). He was responding to a question from UCLA beat writer Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times:

Cronin used to coach at Cincinnati, so maybe his reference to the “Reds” is that UCLA is uncomfortably close to Cincinnati here instead of acting like a true heavyweight in NIL competitions for elite transfer prospects.

Whether you believe Cronin or not, it’s clear that UCLA’s NIL operation is not delivering elite results, much as USC football’s NIL setup is not winning battles against Phil Knight and the Oregon Ducks. It’s quite a story in college sports.

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Lumps of coal: USC and UCLA men’s basketball both have five losses before Christmas

The women’s programs are great, but the Los Angeles men’s college basketball programs are awful.

The USC Trojans defeated the Alabama State Hornets on Tuesday as part of the last Pac-12-SWAC Legacy Series. USC won 79-59 and grabbed a win, but no one is impressed. USC defeated an opponent it was expected to beat, and nothing more. The Trojans closed out their 11-game nonconference schedule with a hugely disappointing 6-5 record. This team will need to catch fire in the Pac-12 season in order to have a realistic shot at the NCAA Tournament.

What will hurt USC’s chances of making March Madness this season is that wins over UCLA aren’t going to carry a lot of value. If USC can beat the Bruins — which no one should take for granted — a win won’t move the needle. UCLA lost at home to Cal State Northridge on Tuesday night. The shocking 76-72 loss snapped UCLA’s 29-game home-court winning streak. It also knocked the Bruins way down the board in terms of their KenPom ranking and their NET rating. UCLA has no remotely good wins. The Bruins were competitive against Marquette, Gonzaga, Villanova, and Ohio State, but did not beat any of those teams.

Both USC and UCLA therefore have five losses before Christmas and before the start of Pac-12 play. The Pac-12 Conference has had a horrendous men’s basketball season, minus the Arizona Wildcats and Utah Utes. Colorado is showing signs of improving, and Washington has been okay, but in truth, Arizona is the only elite team in the conference, and a lot of pundits think Arizona can produce a perfect conference record due to the lack of quality elsewhere in the league.

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Pac-12 basketball report: UCLA looks strong, Colorado stumbles

Colorado lost to a Florida State team which was hammered by Florida.

The Pac-12 basketball season is fully immersed in nonconference play right now. The conference season begins just after Christmas, so teams have a little more than a month to collect important wins outside the league. It’s a time for the conference to build NCAA Tournament resumes and give its teams a cushion before conference play begins.

So, how are things going in the Pac-12? USC has that big win over Kansas State and two important contests coming up in San Diego against power conference opponents. Arizona looks great, having already defeated Duke. Oregon hasn’t faced a significant test just yet, but the Ducks are unbeaten and are better than they were last season.

Two particularly noteworthy events have taken place this week in Pac-12 hoops. UCLA lost to Marquette on Monday at the Maui Invitational but looked like a good team. The Bruins are young and have a dramatically different roster this season compared to previous years. Veteran stalwarts such as Jaime Jaquez are gone, and a new crop of European players are in. The new-look Bruins had a 45-33 second-half lead over Marquette in that Monday Maui game before the Golden Eagles rattled off 17 straight points and rallied for a 71-69 win. UCLA didn’t get a huge result to post on its resume, but the Bruins showed enormous promise for the road ahead. They face Gonzaga in their last Maui game on Wednesday night.

The other big Pac-12 basketball story not involving USC is that Colorado lost to Florida State in overtime on Tuesday. Florida State lost to Florida earlier this season, so the quality of that loss is not great for Tad Boyle’s Buffaloes. It will be important to follow Florida State and see if CU’s loss gets better or worse as the season moves along.

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Pundits have sharply different opinions on UCLA basketball as a competitor to USC

A Sports Illustrated analyst loves UCLA. A Field of 68 commentator does not. We shall see.

Kevin Sweeney of Sports Illustrated is buying UCLA basketball stock before this college hoops season.

“At the top, I will say I think UCLA has probably been a little undervalued nationally in my opinion. I don’t think people quite understand the talent level of the international kids that they’ve brought in,” Sweeney said.

“Aday Mara and Berke Buyuktuncel, I’ve probably butchered those names as well as Jan Vide from Serbia. Those three kids all come from Europe. They are three of the best players in Europe. They’re all three legitimate NBA prospects. If these were one-and-done freshmen, I think UCLA would be a consensus top-15 team, but because they’re one-and-done international kids who people haven’t talked about and heard about for three years and gone to the (Nike) EYBL events and seen play three, four times, I think there’s a little bit more skepticism.

“Yes, it’s going to take a while because (Mick) Cronin’s system isn’t easy to learn. They’ve got three new starters, they’ve got a new point guard in Dylan Andrews. They’ve got stylistic stuff to figure out up front. But I think UCLA’s upside is really immense because they’re adding multiple potential NBA players into the mix. And I do believe Andrews is the point guard that can lead them through that. So maybe they’re not the best team of this group in November and December or even January. That might cost them a regular season Pac-12 title. But part of me thinks this might be the most dangerous of the three (UCLA, USC, Arizona) come March just because of the talent.”

Sweeney likes what UCLA has. National college basketball commentator and reporter Jeff Goodman does not.

Goodman made an eye-opening pick on a Field of 68 college basketball season preview show:

The college basketball season begins on Monday, November 6.

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UCLA basketball returns one key player for next season, but not two

Adem Bona is staying. Jaylen Clark is not. #UCLA’s roster gets a boost but not a best-case scenario.

The UCLA Bruins received mixed news on Wednesday, the final day for NBA draft prospects to either stay in the draft or choose to return to school (and/or the transfer portal).

Big man Adem Bona will come back to UCLA for next season, giving the Bruins an active, smart, hungry rim protector and defensive force. Jaylen Clark, who could defend multiple positions on the floor and helped Bona make UCLA a very strong defensive team, is staying in the NBA draft. The Bruins got some of what they wanted, but not all.

It’s not great news for USC — Bona will be a beast for Vince Iwuchukwu and Joshua Morgan to deal with — but it’s not terrible news with Clark departing. If it’s not a best-case situation for UCLA, it’s not a worst-case situation for USC.

UCLA not getting both Clark and Bona to return probably keeps the Bruins third in the Pac-12 behind USC and Arizona.

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Caleb Love has done something great for USC basketball, but now he becomes a Trojan foe

Caleb Love played a great game to knock UCLA out of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. If Love didn’t shine, UCLA might have made consecutive Final Fours.

Caleb Love has never scored a point for USC on a basketball court. He never helped USC make a Final Four. However, he did something Trojan fans can definitely appreciate: He prevented UCLA from making the Final Four.

Recall what happened in the Sweet 16 round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Tar Heels Wire recalled what Love did in the East Regional semifinal against UCLA in Philadelphia:

“In a fast-paced game that went back and forth for most of it, UNC prevailed late backed by a big second half from Caleb Love. The guard scored 27 of his 30 points in the second half to help UNC grab a lead late and not look back.

“Love drained a 3 with 1:06 left in the game to give UNC a 67-64 lead and then made two key free throws late to extend the lead to 71-66 and eventually sealed the deal for the Tar Heels. The win is huge for UNC as they are now one game away from the Final Four.”

Imagine how much more of a juggernaut — and how much more of a headache for USC — the Bruins would have become if they made the 2022 Final Four. UCLA, had it beaten North Carolina on that night, would have faced 15th-seeded Saint Peter’s in the Elite Eight, a near-guaranteed ticket to the Final Four. UCLA would have made back-to-back Final Fours after getting to the big show in 2021. If UCLA had made consecutive Final Fours, maybe USC doesn’t land Isaiah Collier. Maybe Boogie Ellis doesn’t stay. Maybe Bronny James doesn’t come here. We don’t know for sure, but it definitely helped USC for UCLA to not continue to rise in the college basketball world.

Now at Arizona with the Wildcats, Caleb Love will be a USC opponent. However, Trojan fans can be grateful that Love knows how to beat UCLA. He has already done so when it really mattered.

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USC baseball not making NCAA Tournament raises a key point about sports TV

When UCLA basketball is on the NCAA Tournament bubble, it gets in. That’s because of TV. Baseball doesn’t offer the same TV money.

You know by now that the USC baseball team did not get into the NCAA Tournament. The story rates as a considerable surprise, given that bracket projections 48 hours before the selection show had USC well inside the cut line, not even one of the last four teams in the field. The Trojans’ place seemed relatively secure — not a lock, but very close. Arizona was viewed to be much more on the bubble than USC, but the Wildcats made the field while USC stayed home.

Compare all of this to UCLA basketball in 2015 and 2021. The Bruins were viewed as a team which did not deserve to be in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Colorado State and Temple had better resumes that year. In 2021, it was a very close call for the Bruins, who lost to Oregon State in their opening game of the Pac-12 Tournament and had a long wait on Selection Sunday, but were able to get into the field as a First Four team. UCLA went all the way to the Final Four. The Bruins got a chance to do something in basketball. USC baseball won’t get that same opportunity.

Is this a case of NCAA Tournament selection committees liking UCLA more than USC? As much as any USC fan might hate UCLA, that’s simply not true.

It’s not about liking UCLA more than USC. What it does involve, however, is something UCLA basketball has … and which USC baseball lacks: the ability to generate considerable television revenue.

The NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament is a major moneymaker with a huge television contract. The NCAA Baseball Tournament is not a big moneymaker, and it doesn’t have its own standalone media rights deal.

UCLA makes the NCAA Basketball Tournament because CBS and Turner need schools which justify the advertising rates and can bring in big numbers. That same commercial pressure (incentive) does not exist in baseball.

What is the meaning or importance of all this? There is something to take away from this story: Baseball, softball, and other sports need to create their own standalone media deals for their respective NCAA Tournaments. This will direct more money to (and through) each sport, thereby increasing the importance of having prestige programs involved in tournament play.

USC wouldn’t be a lock to make future NCAA Baseball Tournaments if baseball has a standalone TV deal, but the odds would be better.

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Miami’s sports gold rush calls to mind Los Angeles’ best sports year: 1972

In 2023, Miami has reached the Men’s Final Four, the NBA Finals, and the Stanley Cup Final. In 1972, Los Angeles did even better. #USC

The city of Miami and its surrounding areas — Sunrise and Boca Raton, Florida — have enjoyed a magical sports run in 2023. The Miami Hurricanes made the NCAA Final Four in men’s basketball and the Elite Eight in women’s basketball. Florida Atlantic, in Boca Raton, made the Men’s Final Four. Now the Miami Heat have reached the NBA Finals, days after the Florida Panthers reached the Stanley Cup Final. What a gold rush for one collection of nearby communities in South Florida.

If the Heat can upset the Denver Nuggets, and if the Panthers can win their first-ever Stanley Cup against the Las Vegas Golden Knights, maybe Miami’s 2023 will become the greatest year ever for any city in the history of American sports. Maybe.

Right now, however, before the NBA Finals and Stanley Cup Final begin, the year 1972 in Los Angeles is a greater sports year for an American city.

We wrote about this in our 15-part 2020 series on The Los Angeles Sports Empire, chronicling the years 1958-1989, when the City of Angels was a city of championships.

Here’s an excerpt from Part VII of the series, focusing on the early 1970s, the absolute height of that empire in L.A.:

“The early 1970s marked the height of the Los Angeles Sports Empire because, from 1970 through 1973, USC baseball and UCLA hoops won their respective national championships in each of those years. Los Angeles owned college baseball and basketball for four years running, and they also doubled up in 1968 as well.

“When USC football won a national title in 1972, Los Angeles owned the national championship in all three major collegiate team sports. When USC won the national title in 1967 and 1974, Los Angeles’s stature grew even more.

“If you include all three major collegiate team sports, Los Angeles won all three championships in 1972. It won two of the three national championships in 1967, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1973, and 1974.”

Read more on The Los Angeles Sports Empire in the links we will share below. If you missed this series when it was first published three years ago, here’s a great chance to catch up: