UCLA HC Mick Cronin downplays Big Ten Tournament loss

It was UCLA's first season in the Big Ten and things didn't necessarily go great for Mick Cronin's team in the conference tournament.

The Bruins finished 22-10 and 13-7 in Big Ten play, which earned them a double-bye in the tournament, but they lost in their tournament debut to Wisconsin, 86-70.

UCLA was blindsided, especially by Wisconsin's 50.4% three-point shooting percentage, going 19-of-32 from deep. 

Wisconsin was so good from three that when recapping the loss, Cronin compared them to the Boston Celtics. That hot shooting is why he felt his otherwise strong team got bounced. To his point, Wisconsin shot just 7-of-39 from three in its Big Ten Tournament final loss to Michigan.

“I thought we were in a really good place to end the season. Then we played the 'Boston Celtics' the other day, who were 7-39 from three [Sunday]. But what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger," Cronin told the media in the aftermath of finding out that UCLA was awarded the No. 7 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament and will play No. 10 Utah State in the first round on Thursday (h/t On3). "It’s just a good example for us to learn that you’ve got to come out tight on the gameplan and in adherence to the game plan. You can’t let another team get started to their strengths, because you start a snowball rolling downhill and it picks up steam.”

Ultimately, Cronin isn't worried about not winning the Big Ten Tournament. He has his eyes set on a bigger prize, which is winning the NCAA Tournament. As he sees it, the extra rest and extra practice may actually play out in UCLA's favor.

“We’re healthy. I think that’s the biggest key," he said. "We have three practices before we play Thursday, but we’re healthy. I do think it helps that we got home and we didn’t play [Sunday] or Saturday. I think if you’ve learned anything from this stuff, the conference tournament, other than the automatic bids and maybe some bubble games, they don’t matter. They’re glorified reality TV for money.”

Utah State went 26-7 and fell to Colorado State in the Mountain West Tournament semifinal.

UCLA and Utah State will tip off from Rupp Arena in Lexington, Kentucky on Thursday at 9:25 p.m. ET on TNT.