How Good Has Mick Cronin Been For UCLA?

Originally posted on UCLA Bruins on SI
By Dominic Minchella | Last updated Mar 27, 2025 5:10 PM ET

The UCLA Bruins basketball squad made the transition from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten nicely, continuing their winning ways in a tougher conference. While Year 1 in the Big Ten is in the books for UCLA, its head coach, Mick Cronin, has known major success regardless of what conference his team plays in.

Since taking over as the Bruins head coach in 2019, the program has remained steady and level-headed, with some heated moments from the sideline, of course. All in all, Cronin has seen a ton of success since taking the reins at UCLA, as can be seen over his tenure.

Over the 200 games coached for UCLA since 2019 (202 to be exact), Cronin holds an impressive record of 138 wins and 64 losses. That being said, the Bruins under Cronin have averaged 23 wins per season, which, funnily enough, was their 2024-25 win total.

Cronin has led his crew to four NCAA Tournaments over the six seasons, as well as one final four appearance and Pac-12 regular season champions. While UCLA's head coach has a tough love mentality towards his players, something has to be working in their favor given all the success they and he have had.

The two-time Pac-12 Coach of the Year transitioned nicely over into the Big Ten, and now that the Bruins' season is officially over, they look to be adding more pieces to the puzzle to contend next season. If we have learned anything about a Cronin team, it is that they are going to be competitive and defense focused.

Under Cronin this past season, the Bruins sat atop of the Big Ten in defense, holding their opponents to score 65.2 points per game. Their defense was strong enough to also push the program into the Top 5 for points differentials, where they were defeating their opponents by 8.9 points or more in the regular season.

Going into another season of UCLA basketball, Cronin will likely need to start to look for offensive answers if he and the rest of the Bruins want to compete in the Big Ten, given they as a whole averaged 74.2 points per game, ranking 15th in the conference.

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This article first appeared on UCLA Bruins on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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