Cronin says Bruins ‘way too cavalier’

UCLA MEN’S BASKETBALL

UCLA guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. scored a game-high 26 points on Thursday, but coach Mick Cronin said his team struggled to put away Stanford because it was “overconfident.” RINGO H.W. CHIU — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

UCLA coach Mick Cronin said Bruins were “way too cavalier” against Stanford. ANDY NELSON — AP

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By Tarek Fattal

tfattal@scng.com

UCLA coach Mick Cronin said his fourth-ranked Bruins came into Thursday night’s 73-64 win over Stanford “overconfident.”

“Way too cavalier,” the fourth-year coach said.

Despite the complacency, UCLA extended its home winning streak to 22 games with a victory over the Cardinal, who came into Thursday’s game winning six of their previous eight contests.

“I told our guys, ‘What did you think was going to happen?’” Cronin said. “We handled them at their place, they got some good players on that team, for three days they’re getting ready for us, coming in to play one of the best teams in the country on the road.”

The game had the trimmings for an upset — and it felt like one was brewing for multiple stretches — but the Bruins buckled down.

If complacency was an issue against a formidable opponent like Stanford, it might be the bigger concern against Cal on Saturday night. The Golden Bears are 3-23 overall and 2-13 in Pac-12 Conference play after losing to USC 97-60 on Thursday night at the Galen Center.

“It’s all a coach’s paranoia when you have to beat a team twice, which we have to do the rest of the way other than Arizona,” Cronin said. “It’s paranoia because your guys tend to think it’s going to be a little bit easier (the second time).”

Senior David Singleton reminded the team of a couple things.

“We’re getting closer and closer to March, upsets happen all the time,” Singleton said. “I explained to the guys that we have to play defense and take strides forward getting ready for March; we can’t take steps back right now or the season will end early.”

Cronin finalist for coach of the year

Cronin has been named as one of 15 candidates for the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Award.

The fiery coach guided UCLA to 14 consecutive wins midway through the season, marking the program’s longest winning streak since a 14-game run late in the 2007-08 basketball season under former head coach Ben Howland.

The Bruins currently rank No. 7 in the country in fewest points allowed per game (scoring defense, 60.0 ppg) and No. 8 in scoring margin (13.9 ppg). UCLA’s 22-game winning streak at home is the country’s longest, but the Bruins have won their last 33 home games with fans present in the arena (COVID-19 guidelines restricted fans from attending games in Pauley Pavilion in 2020-21 and during three games in 2021-22).

Cronin, who’s in his 20th season as a head coach, was named the 2018 Sporting News National Coach of the Year while serving as head coach at his alma mater, the University of Cincinnati.

The winner will be announced April 2.