Mick Cronin calls out coaching and effort after UCLA's latest loss

Mick Cronin was careful not to throw any of his own players under the bus after UCLA's 64-61 loss to Minnesota, but the Bruins head coach is clearly frustrated.

The loss was tough enough, but it was how the Bruins lost that made it difficult for Cronin to stomach. As far as how he's looking at it, though, the loss has to go on his shoulders.

“I feel like we didn’t play well, and if I say anything, then I throw players under the bus. We didn’t play well, we were poorly coached. That’s why we don’t play well," Cronin said after the game (h/t On3). 

While he did choose to blame himself for the loss, Cronin didn't absolutely absolve his players. They were terrible from the free-throw stripe, missing 9-of-19 attempts for a free-throw percentage of 47.4%. UCLA was also outrebounded and played poor help defense against Minnesota, as Cronin noted.

“That’s all because we don’t rebound the ball," Cronin explained. "We get out rebounded — they get outrebounded on the season. They’re a negative rebounding team. They outrebound us. So, hugely disappointing effort. That’s really all I’ve got to say."

If Cronin sounds frustrated, it's because he is. UCLA is 19-8 and 10-6 in Big Ten play, but the Bruins have lost two of their last three games. They've got to turn it around in a big way with Selection Sunday quickly approaching.