Tom Izzo on Mick Cronin ejecting UCLA player: 'That sounds like Mick'

No. 15 Michigan State dominated against UCLA on Tuesday night, cruising to an 82-59 victory. The loss didn’t come without a wild moment, specifically from Mick Cronin.

UCLA center Steven Jamerson II was called for a flagrant foul with 4:26 remaining in the game, making contact with Michigan State’s Carson Cooper on a dunk attempt. But after the play, Cronin was not happy with his own player.

In fact, Cronin showed just that on the court. He sent Jamerson straight to the Bruins locker room.

After the game, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo reacted to the moment, which he had never seen before. And he had an interesting comment on Cronin himself.

“I guess he upgraded that to a flagrant 2, huh? That’s the first time I saw a coach do it,” Izzo said. “But that sounds like Mick. So he’ll get that straightened out.”

Jamerson is in his first season at UCLA after playing his first three years at San Diego. He’s averaging 11.3 minutes per night, posting a line of 2.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per night.

Cronin explains why he ejected Jamerson himself

UCLA just couldn’t get anything going in the loss, shooting 37% from the field and 32% from three-point range. Tyler Bilodeau led the Bruins with 22 points and Skyy Clark had 12, but nobody else had more than 9 on the score sheet.

Clearly, frustration was high on that side of the court. And when asked about the situation where he ejected Jamerson, Cronin expressed his disappointment in the play, one that he said came against a defenseless player in the air.

“You know, true toughness is how you compete and how you go to work every day,” Cronin said. “Steve’s a good kid. He made a bad decision. But if you want to be a tough guy, you need to do it during the game, for a blockout, for a rebound.

“So, I was thoroughly disappointed. The guy was defenseless in the air. I know Steve was trying to block the shot, but the game’s a 25-point game. You don’t do that.”

The loss was UCLA’s second consecutive defeat of at least 23 points. The Bruins fell to Michigan 86-56 on Saturday.

UCLA is now 17-9 overall on the season, and 9-6 in Big Ten play. The Bruins return home for two games next, hosting No. 10 Illinois on Saturday and USC on Tuesday.