UCLA men’s basketball head coach Mick Cronin expressed his dissatisfaction with the Big Ten’s scheduling after the Bruins’ 69-67 win over Purdue at the Pauley Pavilion.
Even though the Bruins got their signature win of the season with an upset against the No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers, Cronin managed to find something to be upset about. This time the passionate coach targeted the conference and how it scheduled UCLA’s start of Big Ten play.
“I want to thank the Big Ten for giving us five of our first seven on the road, bringing Purdue here on [Tuesday] night but we don’t get back to L.A. until Saturday night and giving us the team picked to win the league on a two days’ rest,” Cronin said, according to Los Angeles Times reporter Ben Bolch.
Cronin has a right to be upset that UCLA had to travel a lot to start conference play, but he also can’t blame the Big Ten for all of the Bruins’ struggles this season. After all, he took the blame last Saturday after he called out his players’ performance against the Ohio State Buckeyes in their 86-74 loss.
The Bruins won their biggest game of the season so far. The focus should be on improving the team rather than looking back and complaining about adversity. If Cronin felt the disadvantage negatively impacted the team, that needs to be something addressed in the offseason rather than after a momentum building win that could boost the season.
This article originally appeared on UCLA Wire: UCLA’s Mick Cronin expresses displeasure with Big Ten scheduling
Reporting by Ryan Lorenz, UCLA Wire / UCLA Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
