Mick Cronin shreds Big Ten staff member over delay in postgame press conference

UCLA was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament on Friday after losing to Wisconsin 86-70 in the quarterfinal round. After the game ended, there was an apparent delay with beginning the postgame press conference.

Bruins head coach Mick Cronin sat down at the podium to address the media. Before he began discussing the game, he spoke directly to a member of the staff in Charlotte at the Big Ten Tournament about his displeasure over the prolonged wait.

“You know the game ended 32 minutes ago?” Cronin asked the Big Ten staffer, who was not pictured on video. “32 minutes ago the game ended. You couldn’t expedite this a little better?”

Cronin did not have an opening statement after the loss. He went directly into questions from the reporters on-hand.

The loss to Wisconsin dropped UCLA to 22-10 overall this year after a 13-7 record in Big Ten play. The Bruins are still well-positioned for the NCAA tournament, though, checking in as a No. 6 seed in On3’s James Fletcher III’s latest Bracketology.

UCLA missed the NCAA tournament last year after making back-to-back Sweet Sixteen appearances. Despite falling in the Big Ten tournament, Mick Cronin and the Bruins appear poised to return to March Madness, and they’ll find out their fate Sunday during the selection show.

His name has shown up as a potential candidate in coaching searches, namely the Indiana Hoosiers. Although, Cronin has shot this rumor down on numerous occasions but has also said that it would be “wildly inappropriate” to comment on the situation while it’s ongoing, especially while head coach Mike Woodson was still leading the program.

After leading the Bruins to the Final Four in 2021, Cronin has accomplished quite a lot during his time in LA. However, it appears as though Cronin has no interest in leaving UCLA as it stands.

“Im not leaving UCLA until they make me leave, okay?” Cronin told reporters later in the press conference. “So please stop with that.”

For now, the Bruins will turn its attention away from the Big Ten Conference, and focus on where UCLA will land in March Madness. They will have to wait to see their fate along with the rest of the country when the final bracket is revealed on Selection Sunday after the conclusion of all tournament championships. The selection show will begin at 6 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN.