Mick Cronin voices complaint about devaluing regular season, conference tournaments

The NCAA Tournament is set to begin for UCLA on Friday. The seventh-seeded Bruins will take on the 10th-seeded UCF Knights. For coach Mick Cronin, the stakes are clear.

“Our game has become so much about March,” Cronin said ahead of the Big Dance. “I don’t know if it’s good or bad. But it just is. And especially we understand why at UCLA. But it’s got that way everywhere.”

UCLA had a relatively ho-hum regular season, going 23-11 overall and 13-7 in Big Ten play. There were times the program looked like it was a threat to win it all and times when the season looked lost.

But now UCLA is dancing. And the outcome? That can make all the difference in the narrative.

“I’ve had friends of mine that have had great regular seasons, won the conference tournament,” Mick Cronin said. “You get knocked out the first weekend, your fans are pissed. Your media is on you. You can reverse it, go average average and go on a run, everybody loves you. And that’s just kind of the way it is right now. I think for everybody.”

Indeed. Success in March trumps all.

Of course, Mick Cronin is coaching at one of the few places in college basketball that demands semi-routine trips deep into March Madness. UCLA is built on such runs.

“I think it’s always been that way here because of the precedent that was set by coach (John) Wooden and all of his players,” Mick Cronin said. “But it’s that way for everybody now. The regular season and conference tournaments have been so devalued that it’s just, you know… it used to be a badge of honor that we won the Big Ten championship. I grew up in the Midwest, you’d hear guys say that.

“Michigan won it this year. If they don’t go to the Final Four, go ahead and go see what their fans say. Right? So that’s just what it’s about, guys, and we try to prepare for that. Try to get freshened up, get these guys up here, get ’em out of here, let them see some sun.””

UCLA will enter as a 5.5-point favorite against UCF, according to betting lines listed by BetMGM. Can Mick Cronin and his squad start to exceed expectations and put a positive spin on the 2025-26 campaign.

We shall see. Tipoff is slated for 7:25 p.m. ET on Friday with a broadcast on TBS.