I'll be coming to you from courtside later tonight

Login to view embedded media

Any word on his stay? I heard on ESPN radio that he was not going to play🤦🏻 Can I’ll afford that!

Before the Sweet Sixteen starts, thought I would share my conference rankings. I only included conferences with two or more teams in the Tournament or have at least one team the Sweet Sixteen.

#1 SEC - Kind of the surprise of the tournament so far. I went back and forth between the SEC and Big East for #1. I chose the SEC because they have outperformed their seeds and the only big upset loss was by Missouri to Princeton who had just beat AZ.
Record: 9-5
Expected Sweet 16: 2
Actual Sweet 16: 3
In: Alabama, Tennessee, Arkansas
Out: Texas A&M, Missouri, Auburn, Miss St, Kentucky
Biggest Upset Win: #8 Arkansas vs. #1 Kansas
Biggest Upset Loss: #7 Missouri vs. #15 Princeton

#2 Big East - Very solid performance from a very solid conference. Creighton getting into the Sweet Sixteen made up for Marquette's loss to a very good defensive team in Michigan State. UConn looks tough.
Record: 7-2
Expected Sweet 16: 3
Actual Sweet 16: 3
In: UConn, Xavier, Creighton
Out: Providence, Marquette
Biggest Upset Win: #6 Creighton vs. #3 Baylor
Biggest Upset Loss: #2 Marquette vs. #7 Michigan State

#3 Big 12 - The Big 12 has underperformed their seeds but they are the only conference outside of the SEC and Big East with two teams in the Sweet Sixteen. This conference has won the last two championships. Texas looks like the best bet for a three-peat.
Record: 7-5
Expected Sweet 16: 4
Actual Sweet 16: 2
In: Texas, Kansas St
Out: Kansas, Iowa State, West Virginia, Baylor, TCU
Biggest Upset Win: None
Biggest Upset Loss: #1 Kansas vs. #8 Arkansas

#4 ACC - Down year for the ACC. The once top basketball conference has not lived up to the expectations after they merged with the "good" teams from the Big East. Miami is the only team left? I still put them at #4 because they have a winning record in the tournament, 3 of 5 teams made the Round of 32 and they have performed a little bit better than their seeds implied.
Record: 5-4
Expected Sweet 16: 1
Actual Sweet 16: 1
In: Miami
Out: Duke, Virginia, NC State, Pittsburgh
Biggest Upset Win: #11 Pittsburgh vs. #6 Iowa State
Biggest Upset Loss: #4 Virginia vs. #13 Furman

#5 AAC - Only loss was by Memphis by 1 point to FAU, which is in the Sweet 16. Though, this is really all about Houston. Thing of beauty when they get it rolling.
Record: 2-1
Expected Sweet 16: 1
Actual Sweet 16: 1
In: Houston
Out: Memphis
Biggest Upset Win: None
Biggest Upset Loss: #8 Memphis vs. #9 FAU

#6 Big Ten - I know some will balk at the Big Ten getting ranked over the Pac 12 but they have the same number of teams in the Sweet Sixteen and had 5 of 8 teams in the round of 32
Record: 6-7
Expected Sweet 16: 2
Actual Sweet 16: 1
In: Michigan St
Out: Purdue, Maryland, Northwestern, Penn State, Illinois, Iowa, Indiana
Biggest Upset Win: #7 Michigan State vs. #2 Marquette
Biggest Upset Loss: #1 Purdue vs. #16 Fairleigh Dickinson

#7 Pac 12 - Its up to UCLA to once again to represent the conference. After UCLA and USC move to the Big Ten, it does not look pretty.
Record: 4-3
Expected Sweet 16: 2
Actual Sweet 16: 1
In: UCLA
Out: Arizona, USC, ASU
Biggest Upset Win: #11 ASU v. #6 TCU
Biggest Upset Loss: #2 Arizona vs. #15 Princeton

#8 West Coast - Two good teams. Both have played to their seeds. A lot of people like this to be Gonzaga's year but don't they say that every year. Maybe. Hope not.
Record: 3-1
Expected Sweet 16: 1
Actual Sweet 16: 1
In: Gonzaga
Out: Saint Mary's
Biggest Upset Win: None
Biggest Upset Loss: None

#9 Ivy - I kind of hate to not put them on the bottom but Princeton has put on a historic performance so far.
Record: 2-0
Expected Sweet 16: 0
Actual Sweet 16: 1
In: Princeton
Out: N/A
Biggest Upset Win: #15 Princeston vs. #2 Arizona
Biggest Upset Loss: None

#10: Mountain West - They really have just played to their seeding and San Diego State did not have to face a top 4 seed to advance. They do look good and it would be cool to see the Aztecs keep it going against Alabama. But the Tide will likely roll them over.
Record: 2-4
Expected Sweet 16: 0
Actual Sweet 16: 1
In: San Diego St
Out: Utah State, Boise St, Nevada
Biggest Upset Win: None
Biggest Upset Loss: None

#11 Conference USA - Like I said earlier. I would rather put the Ivy at the bottom but FAU had a relatively easy path to the Sweet Sixteen. I do think they were probably under seeded.
Record: 2-0
Expected Sweet 16: 0
Actual Sweet 16: 1
In: FAU
Out: N/A
Biggest Upset Win: #9 FAU vs. #8 Memphis
Biggest Upset Loss: None

Thursday’s West Regional semifinal between UCLA and Gonzaga is one with memorable past NCAA tournament history, the Bruins’ chance to avenge the sting of the 2021 Final Four, and an all-time great performer in Drew Timme who stands in their way

Video of the press conference:

Login to view embedded media

​

UCLA Bruins​

Sweet 16 Pregame Media Conference​

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

Q. Jaime, have you watched the tape from the last time you played Gonzaga here?
JAIME JAQUEZ: I've seen it.
Q. And?
JAIME JAQUEZ: And we're ecstatic that we're here in the Sweet 16 and we're able to play against a great team.
Q. Referring to that question on that game, but not about the wins and losses, just what do you remember that game being like? What were the feelings like as you were playing and looking back on it, aside from win or lose?
JAIME JAQUEZ: I think it's a new team. We want to compare last year -- I think it was maybe the third game of the year, and talk about almost two years, maybe a year and a half, something later. We've got a lot of new guys. It's a completely new team. So I think that game has little effect on what we're doing here in this game coming up.
TYGER CAMPBELL: Jaime hit it on the head. It's hard to compare a game from a year ago or even when we played them before that because we have a whole new team. They have a whole new team. Obviously there's still some guys that were there, just like we have, but we're going into this game not worried about the past ones and just trying to get a win on Thursday.
Q. Tyger, Coach Cronin is always talking about how hard it is to play defense with freshmen. You have one guy sitting next to you right now. But how has this team been able to do it with Amari and Adem and Dylan and Will contributing so much? And what kind of role do veterans have in helping bring those guys along?
TYGER CAMPBELL: Well, it's good having freshmen that are here and that are willing to listen and that are willing to take on the task in front of them. If you would have -- Amari being a great defender, for example, last game, he played a point guard that made Second-Team All-Big Ten and made it difficult for him all game, and to even go back to the game before.
When you have guys that are just ready and they're going against veterans every day in practice, it makes it a little easier when they get out there. But all that has to do with effort and them locking into the scouting report also. Because with young guards it's hard -- they'll get backdoored, they'll get beat. There will be a lot of things you don't expect.
But the guys we have, they've taken on this defensive job very seriously because they know that's the only way we're going to win is by defense. And they recognize that.
Q. Jaime, you've been in so many of these tournaments now. Tyger, yourself; but, Jaime, for you specifically, do you ever have to pinch yourself a little bit? You've played in so many March Madness games, doing media all the time. Talk about that a little bit.
JAIME JAQUEZ: It becomes surreal for me. And I know, I think Tyger and Amari can speak to that as well. I think it's hard. Me and Tyger talk a lot after games about just trying to understand and realize the bigger picture and take ourselves out of our shoes and look at what we've really done as a group together.
And we look back. And we're proud of what we've accomplished so far. Obviously, we're still here. We're still playing. And we've got a lot more to do.
But when we look back, we're very proud of the effort and hard work that we put in to building this program to what it is today.
Q. Amari, along those same lines, this being your first exposure to March Madness, what are your impressions right now? What's going through your head with not only what's going on on the floor, but all the media stuff and all the other stuff that goes with it?
AMARI BAILEY: Really just staying in the moment, staying present with my guys. That's all I really can do, just like you said, this is my first experience with all of this. And I'm really just taking it one step at a time with the media, with game play, practice play.
Q. Jaime, your sister will be playing in her Sweet 16 this weekend. What parts of her game do you appreciate the most and the kind of player she's grown in so far at UCLA?
JAIME JAQUEZ: She's tough. I think we play a very similar style of game. I was very happy I got to watch her in the second round. I was able to go. I know all the guys were there supporting the women's team as well.
I'm just very proud of the work she's put in. It's difficult as a freshman. But she's taken her time there and she's making the most of it. I'm just very happy and proud of her.
Q. Jaime, Drew talked about you being roommates at a camp in high school. Seeing how far he's come; he's now the all-time scoring leader at Gonzaga. You've probably had battles with him over the years. Just how tough is he offensively, footwork-wise and everything? And seeing him grow from high school, what's that been like from afar?
JAIME JAQUEZ: Like you said, we met each other -- we were roommates at, I think, Ballislife Camp in So. Cal. It was great to get to know him and see how he was at the time. I don't think either of us knew how far our careers would go at that time. We were just kids enjoying basketball and having fun.
And it's great to see him and all the success he's had there. And I credit that to all the hard work that he's put in. And it was very cool to have full-circle moments like that in life. I think 360 is a magic number. I think a lot of things come cycle and this is another one of those instances.
Q. Tyger, can you talk about Dylan Andrews. I think naturally his minutes have gone up, his points. He's made some key plays with free throws and the 3-pointer, Northwestern. Just your comments on Dylan Andrews and him being able to step up on such a big stage?
TYGER CAMPBELL: It might sound crazy, but I expect that from -- not just me but the team expects that from him. Ever since he's got here he's been a dog and he's been willing to learn. And he's asked me all types of questions. And he's trying to figure it out one game at a time.
And I think that he just shows that he's ready when he comes in. Like to your point, those big free throws that he hit, we don't win unless he hits those. So he's just a guy that stays ready and when his time comes, it's going to be crazy. He'll show everybody.
Q. Jaime and Tyger, what this year, only this year stands out about Gonzaga on film, to you guys?
JAIME JAQUEZ: I think more the offense obviously has been a big focal point of their team. And I think that's just constant throughout the three years that I've been here, being able to play them.
They're always tough to guard in transition, the pick and roll as well. We're going to try to trust in our game plan, trust in the coaches and we're going to try to execute the best we can.
Q. How would you describe Las Vegas as a basketball town since you guys come here every year for the tournament? And also you guys play some special one-off games too in the fall.
AMARI BAILEY: I feel like we just want to come here and win, obviously. But we've joked around about it a little, but just break the curse that we have here in Vegas and come out on top.
JAIME JAQUEZ: To add on that, too, me and Amari obviously played high school, but everyone here I think has gone to Vegas at one point in their life for basketball. It is really an underrated mecca when it comes to youth basketball and just basketball as a whole. It's a very underrated city.
Q. Tyger, you've been asked about a couple of the younger guys. Will in particular, he's a Vegas kid, coming back home. What has his journey -- how has it been perceived by you guys and what have you seen in his development?
TYGER CAMPBELL: We know Will is a great player. And he's coming off a pretty serious injury. So me personally going through something like that, I try to talk to him and help him try to get more comfortable with his body and just tell him how much we need him and how there's no rush. But we need him to play if we want to win.
He's a gamer. So he stays ready. We're just trying to keep up his confidence because we see him do great things every day in practice, defensively and offensively. So we're just trying to get him more comfortable in his body and just ready to come in these games and help us win because we know we're going to need it.
Q. Jaime, I talked to you before the season, you talked about coming back and how being on campus at the same time as your sister was pretty special. Getting to see her go to the Sweet 16, you were mentioning that. What's been the best part of being a big brother with your little sister on campus and kind of going through the journey together?
JAIME JAQUEZ: I think just being able to see firsthand her growth as a player but also as a woman as well. This is just a big transition in everyone's life when they go to college. I think she's handling it great. Obviously they're in the Sweet 16. But I think more than that she's learning how to live by herself, on her own, and kind of finding her own way in life. I think that's really cool as an older brother just to see my little sister grow up in front of my eyes.
Q. Jaime, along that line, are your parents going to be flying back and forth this weekend between here and Greenville, or what's the deal there?
JAIME JAQUEZ: I don't have their flight itinerary, but I know they're crazy. And they're going to try to make both as best they can. My parents are very supportive. They've been that way since I was a kid. And I just really appreciate all the hard work that they've put in trying to make it and support all three of their kids in all their sports and all their games.
Q. Amari, coming in as a freshman, your last five games, averaging 17 points per game, obviously not fazed at all by the bright lights of March and the Pac-12 Tournament and everything, what about this time of year is bringing out the best in you right now especially heading into a matchup with a team as prolific offensively as Gonzaga?
AMARI BAILEY: Just trying to stay sane and trust in my work, trust in what we've built together collectively as a group. Not really getting beside myself, knowing that we're going to have to come in and compete for 40 minutes. Really just letting everything play out and whatever happens happens. And just staying present in the moment, really.
COACH CRONIN: Great to be back. Obviously we're happy to be here. Not easy to get here. There's only 16 of us left. So we take the opportunity very seriously. So we're not here for vacation.
Everything we work for is hopefully to win four more games. Gotta find a way to win tomorrow night. I have great respect for our opponent. Obviously we've played them the last couple of years. Everybody knows about the Final Four game. So have great respect for them.
Q. The way college basketball is now, it's pretty rare to have multiple players from a Final Four game two years ago that are still in college and playing in this one. How do you think that plays with your guys, just in terms of understanding what they're up against tomorrow?
COACH CRONIN: I think they definitely do understand, which would be, I agree, rare this day and age in college basketball. But just like Watson and Timme understand. So they got the same kind of guys, which is why both teams probably have -- I don't know their record, but I'm sure they've got over 30 wins. We've got 31. There's a reason why we've got a lot of wins, over 60 combined, probably, between us.
I think I'm sure people in this room, like yourself, wish it was more like that. We're all getting older. And we think about how college basketball was great when Laettner and Hurley played together for a long time. I know I'd like to coach Kareem and Bill for six years, three and three. That would be really nice.
Q. Before the season, somebody asked you if this could be your best defensive team at UCLA, and you kind of chuckled and said, no, too many freshmen. But it's funny how it played out. Looking at those freshmen, now you almost want more of those guys, they've been so good. What's gone into making this your best defensive team with guys like Adem, Amari, Will, Dylan making such big defensive contributions?
COACH CRONIN: You said this, actually, to me early. If I remember, you said this is the most athletic team you've had. And I learned from Coach Huggins 20 years ago -- or more than that now, 23 years ago since I worked for him -- you've got to be able to erase mistakes.
You can't just be good -- you're not always going to be perfect. So defense, the great teams can erase mistakes. And you do that with the athletes -- the better athletes you have, you have a much better chance to erase a mistake.
So there's times where there might be a guy open but Amari Bailey is such a great athlete that he deflects the pass, or Adem Bona changes the shot, Kenneth Nwuba blocks the shot.
And combine that with the seniors that we have, back to the experience, they're in the right place 99 percent of the time. But the freshmen are so athletic, their athleticism supersedes their inexperience at times and their toughness. As you know I'm a big believer in that.
So the two that have started for us all year, unbelievably tough, athletic kids. Amari Bailey is an unbelievably tough, athletic kid, and so is Adem Bona.
We've been able to keep it going without the best perimeter defender I've ever coached in the Pac-12, defensive player of the year Jaylen Clark. We just had the makings of a team that could be great defensively.
Q. You've been around the game a long time. Do you remember when Las Vegas was not seen in a good -- by the NCAA?
COACH CRONIN: I read that article.
Q. In a good light. You are here playing in an NCAA Regional. How does that wash with you as a guy who comes here every year with his team and has had no problems in terms of dealing with Vegas?
COACH CRONIN: Long overdue. Long overdue. So I'll just try to be pointed. You guys know me; I'm always honest. Long overdue. Great city. Probably the best city in our country to host an event. The Final Four, it was just a matter of time once Allegiant was built.
But we all know that the NFL -- once the NFL came here, it was going to open it up for everything else. I mean that's just the facts.
And once state legislators started passing and allowing FanDuel and DraftKings and all that stuff, then it was okay.
Somebody's always got to make a move first. The NFL made the move here first to Vegas. I think that probably opened it up. Obviously you need the arena. But Thomas & Mack is an unbelievable building. Could have hosted a lot of tournaments, as I'm sure that's what you're thinking.
Just happy for the city. Well-deserved. Long, long overdue.
Q. 3-point shooting percentage is down this year compared to previous tournaments. Any explanation for that?
COACH CRONIN: You'd have to give me the numbers.
Q. Percent it's generally been over 32?
COACH CRONIN: So, we're talking about 1 percent? If we're not talking about my portfolio, I'm not interested (laughter). Are you serious, we're talking about 1 percent?
Q. (Off microphone) 32, it's a little bit of a dip.
COACH CRONIN: We got rid of the teams that can't shoot. Now let's play.
Q. Will's played a lot of big games here in Vegas, none bigger than the one tomorrow. How would you contextualize his journey through the program to the point when you met him in recruiting to going through the injury and adversity and where he is now?
COACH CRONIN: Grant Rice is a good friend of mine. He could easily be a college coach, but he's smart enough to have a normal life and a great family. Brooke probably wouldn't let him do it even if he wanted to.
But he told me right away -- I called him when I got the job -- who should I recruit on your team? And he immediately -- he said that Will McClendon, he's good enough and he's a UCLA kid. Grant obviously is from Southern California. So he knows the tradition and history, what academics are about.
And he was right on all accounts. Will just had a traumatic, traumatic ACL injury. It was scary. He was in pain. Tough recovery. But he's back to normal now.
And right now, look, in this team, he's just playing a role for us. He's trying to be Jaylen Clark while Jaylen Clark's out.
I know Will as you know was a big shot-maker at Gorman. He was known as Big Shot Will. And I know he still has that in him. We work with him every day on it, just trying to keep his confidence up. Obviously his numbers show.
If you didn't know him, you'd think he's not a shooter. But if you watch high school basketball in Las Vegas, you know that's what he was.
But he's just a winner. And I believe in winners. So Grant knows me. He knows what I'm looking for. This kid's a winner. He's your type of guy. Guys help you win in a lot of ways.
Right now in his career he's helping us win with intangibles and toughness and defense. But I know the day is coming, he's going to help us win with shots, too.
Q. Gonzaga played here a year ago against you. You played three games here in this building two weeks ago. The fact that you both are familiar with this facility, is that going to make for a better game, do you think, tomorrow? Because there's the newness is not here?
COACH CRONIN: Again, maybe. I think that's media stuff. I think that's media stuff. I don't know about all that stuff. I don't care where the game is, what ball you're using. Players play.
I mean, I never heard -- I grew up in the Michael Jordan era, when I was young he was the best player ever. Kareem was older, a little bit. So I just never heard guys like that talk about stuff like that.
I was raised on the great Oscar Robertson. My dad talked about him all the time. I never heard them guys talking about the gym and the ball and just, I don't believe in all that stuff. To me it's all soft. It's how I look at it.
Them guys back then, man, they drank beer while you were interviewing them, got on a commercial flight and Larry Bird got 50 the next night. And I don't know what the hell kind of ball they were using or what gym they were even in.
Q. What makes Gonzaga such a difficult team to play against?
COACH CRONIN: They have three things: Coaching; plus, plus; Drew Timme; and shooting. How is that for you?
And not just shooting from one guy. They've got multiple shooters; a great, great go-to player that has over 100 assists -- very rare for a big guy; and triple-A coaching.
Q. This is probably media stuff too, but tomorrow's the 17-year anniversary of the UCLA-Gonzaga game where UCLA had the come back. Obviously you guys have the recent games --
COACH CRONIN: You know 17 years ago I wasn't at UCLA. Who was in that game?
Q. That was the Adam Morrison on the court, where UCLA had the big comeback in that game. I'm not asking about that game in particular, but the rivalry has developed over this time. You guys played the last two years. Two of the premier programs on the West Coast; probably the two premier programs. What makes this rivalry so special now? And is that a good thing for the sport of college basketball?
COACH CRONIN: Look, all that stuff's good for college basketball. Playing in big games, that's why Coach Few tried to get that game going last year. We played terrible, but give them -- because of them.
But all good for college basketball. Anything that generates interest is good for college basketball. So I think as a coach you've got to be willing to schedule those kind of games.
Q. I'm curious, how do you address it or approach it with your team when you lose a player important to you like Jaylen Clark late in the season, and your guys are smart; they understand what it means? But it doesn't seem like from a mental standpoint that it's rattled them at all.
COACH CRONIN: It's because the way we operate all year. Our other guys, you got a scholarship for a reason. And we operate under it's never okay to lose. So doesn't matter who's playing.
Now, maybe a little bit harder to win. Might have to make some adjustments. But we're going to tell you how to win and we've got to be tough enough to figure it out. That's just what it boils down to. You've got to be tough enough to do whatever you've got to do to win the game.
So somehow we've got to find a way to contain Drew Timme and not give up a lot of 3s regardless who plays for us because we've got some guys day to day.
If it doesn't go our way, I'm not going to come in here and say we lost because these two guys weren't playing or these three guys weren't playing. We're still going to get to play 5-on-5. You've got to be tough enough to figure it out if you want to win.
Q. Specifically Dylan Andrews, everything about him has elevated. You mentioned --
COACH CRONIN: It's all coaching. Look --
Q. His ability to evolve and help the team on such a big stage in more minutes and more shots, can you just talk about --
COACH CRONIN: He was plus-10 the other day against Northwestern. You saw, if you really watched that Northwestern game, how good he is defensively on the ball. And look, comfort zone offensively is really hard for a young player if they don't get -- for any player if you don't get extended minutes. It's just hard to get in any type of rhythm offensively.
But, again, he's young. He's playing on a team with some great talent. And he's embraced his role, which is again -- there's a reason why you have a bunch of wins. It's not the four letters. It's not the coaching. The guys buying into what they need to be a 31-win team. And he's a great example of it.
You could look at his numbers and say, well, he hasn't had a great freshman year. And I couldn't disagree with you more. In what we've needed him to be this year, he's done a great job.
Q. Can you quickly, I'm sure you mentioned this before, you talked about what's good for college basketball. What about the transfer portal, the NIL -- that wild, wild west? And your thoughts on that and how it's kind of changing the game of college basketball?
COACH CRONIN: I think it's just different. You've got to look at it as different. The dying words of every successful business is somebody sitting there saying, well, this is how we've always done things.
And I would remind that to the new head of the NCAA. They better heed those words if they want the NCAA to exist and continue. They better heed those words.
I'm glad you asked that question because players getting paid is coming. The government in our country got to a point where they're interceding to force NIL and the Alston case, Supreme Court. I mean it's just a matter of time.
And we better figure it out if we want to continue. And lobbying to stop it, we're hoping the ship's coming back to port is not the answer. We have to figure it out.

I’ll still be on the road when UCLA meets with the media in Vegas (errands to take care of before leaving).

But I will have a story in the evening based off the transcript and what was already said yesterday.

So I will get to those items once I’m at a stop on my way.

Cronin will meet with us in a little more than an hour before he and the team get on a bus to LAX.

Unclear at the moment if any players will speak today.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

THE MODERATOR: We have our contingent from UCLA.

Mick, the atmosphere here in the building tonight was about as loud as we've ever heard it. Can you address that a little bit.

MICK CRONIN: Well, the Kings are really good. Mike Brown is a great guy, a great coach. Sabonis is pretty good. I have a feeling it's going to be rocking again like Vlade and Paja were out there come playoff time.

It's nice to see both of our fan bases support us. So much is made now about NIL, NBA and stuff. The college experience, this guy didn't have to go to college, he had seven-figure offer to skip college. Jaime could have left and been in the NBA this year. But they value the college experience, which is why we're so good.

But anyway, I want to congratulate Northwestern on their season. Chris is a friend and a great coach. He made some great adjustments in the second half. We countered with the little trap on their pick and rolls that slowed their offense down.

Boo Buie, Chase Audige, their other guys, Nicholson is a guy that didn't get in the game as a freshman. They're everything that's right about college basketball.

Great game. Two great teams. We're fortunate to grind it out even though Tyger didn't make a basket. If you would have told me Tyger wouldn't make a basket, I wouldn't have liked our chances. He's 12 of 12 at the foul line, so he's money.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Last night you said you would take talent over experience. A whole lot of defense. Talk about Amari's performance.

MICK CRONIN: What did Amari have? 14. I was hoping for 18. But it's my fault he didn't get enough shots. Still working on figuring that one out.

We tried to set a double for Dave, they ran over a guy, called the foul on us. I got to see the film on that one.

I would always say you want talent and experience, but I'll take talent. Amari has tremendous, tremendous talent. The more he plays, the more comfortable he gets, the better he gets. He's just as good on the defensive end as he is on the offensive end.

Q. The three that David hit put you up two possessions late, then David goes down, a scary sight. Your thoughts on that shot, how big it was? David's status at this point?

MICK CRONIN: None of us -- we're surprised when Dave misses because we see him every day in practice. He missed two open ones. Everybody was telling him in the huddle, all these guys, Hey, man, shoot the next one. None of us were surprised when that went in. It was his first make of the game from three.

Big shot. Guys got to make plays. The guys that make plays, the teams that have kids that make the plays, are the teams that are going to move on.

Looks like he didn't break his ankle, which I was worried that he did. I was having flashbacks to when I had a full head of hair in the spring of 2000 running out there and Kenyon Martin was playing there. Looks like he's got a bad sprain.

Jaime will give him some of that potion that he used last year. I'm just happy he didn't break his ankle. It's been crazy for us here lately.

Q. Audige didn't score in the first half, then he caught fire in the second. What did you have to do to scramble in the second half to keep him quiet?

MICK CRONIN: We lost him a few times on offensive rebounds. The reason the game was close is they had 14 offensive rebounds. They took 15 more shots than us.

I told these guys, it's like playing us, because we try to turn you over. The turnovers were even. We lost him off of offensive rebounds. He hit one tough one. Got to right on the Dylan. We told the guys he reminds us of Johnny Juzang. Great pullup to his right, can make an open three. He was in foul trouble in the first half. That was a big part of -- it's hard for him to score from the bench.

Look, the way they're constructed, he and Boo Buie, they got to take a lot of shots, the way their team is constructed. We held their percentages in check. They shot 37% as a team for the game. If we would have rebounded the ball, we would have controlled the whole game.

Q. In this world of college basketball, we've seen parity over the years. We're seeing it right now in this tournament. What you can say about how difficult it is to get into the Sweet 16 and how so many teams, no matter the conference, are giving their best game every single night to the point where we're seeing history this time.

MICK CRONIN: Well, look, this isn't new. I would say nothing's new. I'm from the Midwest. I'm getting used to L.A. where it's Dodgers, Lakers, then you get to college after that.

College basketball's one of the best sports to watch because how hard everybody plays every night. It's not just this tournament. Everybody just happens to be watching right now. If you'd have been in Vegas earlier when we played Illinois, it was like a Final Four game. That was November.

We don't play 82 games. The kids in college basketball, the intensity, it's so hard to score. I tell these guys, they're both going to play in the NBA, it's way easier to score up there. Way easier. Guys are tired. They went out the night before. They play 82 games.

Here, endless scouting report, you got days to prepare. Kids are trained, playing two games a week max. Zone defense helps everywhere. The intensity. It just happens to be right now the games are all on a neutral floor. The best 68 teams are playing.

But to me it's the best sport to watch all the time. I'm probably biased, though.

Q. You talked about the similarities between these teams. Was there anything at all that surprised you about the way this game unfolded?

MICK CRONIN: Not really. I didn't think they'd go away. I watched them too much. I saw 'em play during the regular season, because I root for Chris and Brian James. I have so much respect for Chris. He could have sat in Durham, North Carolina, and waited for Coach K to retire. He said, No, I'm from Chicago, I'm going to go home and take the Northwestern job. We're talking about a team that had never been to the NCAA tournament. I respect that.

He ran to a tough situation. Their team this year, I mean, like Penn State, somebody just told me they had a shot at Texas. Doesn't surprise me because I watched them play overtime games.

They're a grizzled, tough team. They hit some tough shots. Buie hit a step-back three, Audige hit some tough ones. Their hustle on the offensive glass really bothered us. And it didn't surprise me that they came back at us.

Q. You've talked about having winning players on your team. This is now your third consecutive time going to the Sweet 16. Seems like your guys consistently find ways to pull things out. What is the difference between a team that maybe steps up a lot of the times, like you guys almost all the time?

MICK CRONIN: Well, look, I was fortunate, I worked for two of the best ever to walk the college sidelines. My dad was a Hall of Fame high school coach. I was trained on how to win and how to coach winning basketball.

You got to defend and take care of the ball and play smart. Obviously you got to have players. Force another team to try to make shots to beat you. Being able to make adjustments and your players follow the adjustment. All that stuff is important.

Chris was hurting us with the iso, I told these two to start trapping. We immediately got a steal.

Like I said, man, when I got the job, people started asking about style of play. W-I-N. We got to teach guys how to win. There's a lot of ways to win. I would tell you our transition early is what got us the lead. I thought that was big because they're such a good halfcourt defensive team.

It's not like we had a lot of practice to get ready for that. I was able to talk to the guys about when we get a stop, we're flying down for layups because we don't want to get into a game in the 50s.

We just try to teach guys how to play winning basketball. You got to be able to play situational winning basketball because situations change. You got to play smart.

Look, man, you got a guy that gets the ball to Tyger, he missed a free throw against Arizona, and in hindsight I'm glad, I'm glad. We weren't happy coming here. The odds of him missing again are very low, you know? That's just who he is.

I would take players, though, over coach.

Q. Jaime or Amari, Northwestern missed its last 12 of 14 shot attempts. Besides the traps mentioned, was there anything you think shifted defensively over the last eight minutes?

JAIME JAQUEZ JR.: Yeah, I think on the switches, I was talking to Amari during the game, we were switching kind of flat. I talked to him, and we talked to Coach in the huddle. We started getting up, switching up into them, bringing up the pressure again like in the first half. I think we shied away from it in the second half with just light switching. I think in the second half we picked it up a lot more.

Q. When Adem, his shoulder, he comes to the sideline...

MICK CRONIN: He's sore. He's extremely sore. If he gets hit on it in any way, he's sore.

The fact that he's out there shows you what a warrior he is. He's really sore. I mean, he's playing with a brace on. I mean, he could get a hit in it, he could reach for a ball. Any type of movement like that is going to aggravate him and it's just going to be like that.

Q. Was there a discussion on keeping him out of the game?

MICK CRONIN: He's going to be sore. There's always going to be a discussion. I don't know the details. It's going to happen.

Q. Amari, your explosion, the way you elevate, has taken the next level recently. Do you think your athleticism is at the height it is now?

AMARI BAILEY: What?

MICK CRONIN: Talking about his athleticism? He did win the dunk contest. He showed me when he won the dunk contest back in the day, that's right.

Q. (No microphone.)

MICK CRONIN: Oh, his? I thought you were talking about his. Both of them, it helps when you're not hurt.

AMARI BAILEY: I would say it's getting there. Not where I want it to be, but this will do for the time being. Any athleticism that I can use for defense or offense, I'll take it, so...

Q. Coach and Amari, talk a little bit about Dylan Andrews stepping up, hitting your free throws, your fellow freshman.

MICK CRONIN: He hit the three, too.

Q. The clutch free throws, six I think.

MICK CRONIN: Not a surprise. Not a surprise. Dylan's a tough kid.

AMARI BAILEY: I would agree with Coach.

Q. I saw you say something to him.

AMARI BAILEY: I was just saying moments like this he's built for. All our guys get in extra work. I've seen Dylan shoot thousands of free throws. To see him go up and hit two, in this environment, I'm not surprised by it all. He just steps up to challenges.

Q. Amari, you're from Chicago. Is this a tough brand of Chicago basketball that you're used to?

AMARI BAILEY: Yeah, I would say so. It was a nice, physical game, so... That's something we always invite over here, just collectively as a group. I'm glad we got the win.

Q. Jaime, what is it like playing with these freshmen?

JAIME JAQUEZ JR.: I think I told them after the first game, after you play your first game, you're not really a freshman anymore. We expect you to step up. There's a reason coach recruited you. Coach takes pride in the players he recruits to this program. You can see that in the freshmen he's brought in.

They're so big for us. We wouldn't be in this position without them. I don't think they're freshmen anymore. They stepped up to the plate.

MICK CRONIN: We're plus 10 with Dylan in the game in his 15 minutes.

Q. Jaime, I know individual accolades aren't something you're always about. Tonight you passed Bill Walton on UCLA's all-time scoring list.

JAIME JAQUEZ JR.: That's crazy. That's insane. I'll be sure to tell Bill when I see him.

Q. Given how much Bill has meant to the aura of UCLA basketball, what does it mean to you?

JAIME JAQUEZ JR.: Yeah, I mean, that's kind of crazy. I didn't know that. But it's funny because we see Bill all the time in the mornings. He always does our games back at home.

Just to be in a conversation with a guy that's so great like that, I mean, I'm just blessed. I'm just blessed to be in this position, blessed to play under such a great coach, blessed to go to this institution.

I don't really know what to say. That's crazy.

MICK CRONIN: Come back for a fifth year (smiling).

Terrible injury but I understand that it's a bad sprain and not broken?? Very tough break for the fifth year senior and I wish him a speedy recovery.

Starting our series of spring camp football position previews today. The big one on everyone’s mind: Will Dante Moore get the job immediately or be eased in?

This is tough to decide with so many great forwards in Bruin history.
i would probably say my top 5 would be:
Marques Johnson
Sidney Wikes
Jaime Jaquez
Reggie Miller
Jamaal Wilkes/Ed O’Bannon

what do you guys think?

It is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on Thursday, with the Connecticut/Arkansas game scheduled at 4:15 p.m. PDT.

It will air on CBS.

The Sucsters will be home in time for dinner

You can tell he's in his comfort level and hanging out with fans. What happened to the old CCK??

Warm-ups about to take place as No. 15-seeded Princeton finishes off the stunner in Sacramento by advancing to the Sweet 16.

UCLA/Northwestern will start in approx. 30 minutes.

Sorry Freddy just saw you had written the same.

Arizona State just lost at the buzzer which means we are the last PAC-12 team left in the tournament.
Beat Northwestern.

Hey folks, just wondering if anyone knows what we can expect tomorrow from NW. Thanks for any info you guys can share!

Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

THE MODERATOR: Our student-athletes from UCLA, David Singleton, Jaime Jaquez, and Tyger Campbell.

You've had a chance to take a look at tape with Northwestern, what are your impressions of that team?

DAVID SINGLETON: They're a very good team. There's a reason why they're here. They have impressive guard play, big man all the way around, 7-footer. Their bench is pretty solid as well. They're just a great team all around.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Any of you three can answer because it's the same for all of you. You played a lot of tournament games the last three seasons. How much does that manifest itself in the course of a game? You're going to get in a tight game, how does that experience help? How exactly does it manifest itself?

JAIME JAQUEZ: I think it's just like you said, we got a lot of experience here. So when it gets down to the crunch time of the game, I think we just developed a trust over the years, a trust in one another, a trust that we can take care of the ball and get a great shot or get a defensive stop as well.

A lot of that experience is going to be crucial in times like tomorrow where we're expecting a really good fight.

Q. Tyger, Boo is a really good point guard. You're also a really good point guard. I think a lot of people are seeing that as a big point guard battle tomorrow. What are your thoughts on the game plan guarding him and playing against him?

TYGER CAMPBELL: Well, we know he's a great player. But we're mainly just focused on UCLA versus Northwestern because it's going to be a team game. We're going to have to have our freshmen come through for us. We're going to have to have good bench minutes from our bigs and all those things.

I think we're more worried about how we're going to stop them as a team as opposed to just stopping one person because they have a good group of guys over there and they play really hard.

Yeah, so we're just preparing for all of 'em.

Q. David, when you come into the tournament and you see teams you've never seen before, you have little time to prepare, can you talk about balancing preparation and film, also relying on what you guys do well.

DAVID SINGLETON: What we do well is we pay attention to detail in film. It really just goes hand-in-hand. It comes into one.

We just have to watch film, get our strategy together, do what we do as a team. What we do is we come up with strategies based on film, game plans, stuff like that.

Q. Do you feel watching film sometimes you can overdo it?

DAVID SINGLETON: I don't think you can never overdo film, but you have to keep in mind they're great players. They might not do everything that you see. Some person might be hot that night. There's always going to be adjustments and audibles in the game itself.

But I don't think you never overdo film.

Q. Jaime, the Big Ten has a rep for playing particularly physically. In watching Northwestern, are they a physical team? How do you match up against that?

JAIME JAQUEZ: Yeah, I think you said it best: Big Ten is known for how physical they play. Northwestern is no exception to that. They're a very physical team.

But I think we're also a very physical team. It's just going to be a big matchup down low, the rebounding battles are going to be intense. That's something we're going to have to prepare for and I think we're looking forward to.

Q. I know you talked last night about playing the game for Jaylen Clark because he's not here right now. Are you still in touch with him? What's it like talking to him even though he's not here?

DAVID SINGLETON: It's an interesting feeling, having like one of our brothers not here right now, sharing this moment with us. In a sense it makes us play harder.

Yeah, we call him, text him. Always ask him how we're doing. Sometimes like he doesn't tell me, but I know I'm annoying him, trying to keep up with him, everything like that. He says, I'm fine, I'm good, don't worry about me, worry about the games.

In a sense he's part of our fuel, motivation, to end this season strong.

Q. You said it's more of a team game. Northwestern has the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year in Chase Audige. Are you expecting a low-scoring game? How do you account for that defensive strength?

TYGER CAMPBELL: We think we're preparing for a slower game, just being prepared. Like everybody has pointed out, in the Big Ten it's a little bit more physical play, grind it out. Where we're from, it's more get up and down and get shots up.

We're just trying to scout. Of course, we got to go back and watch a lot more film on 'em. So we're just preparing for that type of game.

Q. Your thoughts on the minutes that Kenny provided yesterday, how that's going to help you moving forward if he continues that type of game?

TYGER CAMPBELL: They were big for us. Shout-out to Kenny. He had his career high. I think he had his career high within, like, the first 10 minutes of the game or something. When a player does something like that, it's amazing.

All the rebounds and the blocks that he had, I think it just shows that we're a little deeper than people might think. Of course, not having Adem out there, it's a little different for us right now. But if Kenny can play like that all the time, it will be really good for us. Hopefully help us on this run that we want to have, for sure.

Q. I remember last year Super Smash Bros was the downtime game. Is there a new game this year? What are you doing with all the downtime?

DAVID SINGLETON: Super Smash Bros is one of them, but we play chess a lot. As a team we starting to play chess, so...

Q. Who is the best chess player?

DAVID SINGLETON: I don't know. I'm still like in top five. Maybe Tyger. I know Jaime is up there. I know Jaime is up there. Just from seeing outside...

THE MODERATOR: Okay, fellas. Thank you for your time.

We have UCLA head coach Mick Cronin.

You've had a chance to take a look at some tape of Northwestern, review last night's game. What stood out to you?

MICK CRONIN: Northwestern has a great team. Whenever you win at Michigan State, at Ohio State, at Indiana, at Wisconsin in the same year, you must be pretty good.

Obviously I'm from the Midwest. It's hard to do one of those things. They're a veteran team. Great defensive team. There's a time where I carried their coach to victory at the Ocean course in The Bahamas with a wedge on 18. The best shot of my life.

Chris has done an unbelievable job. Obviously Northwestern has its challenges due to it being such an elite academic school. It's not the easiest place to recruit to. Chris has just done an unbelievable job. Happy for him. They've had a great year.

Defensively they're really, really well-coached. And they got really good guard play, as you guys know. We have our work cut out for us.

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How much have you heard from your sister since yesterday?

MICK CRONIN: Due to the fact that I said on national television, I was being facetious, she was going to be rooting for Northwestern, much like yourself. As an alum, they had signs made for her. She's a principal at Summit Country Day High School in Cincinnati. I guess it went viral on her. She sent me some pictures today I guess from her students posting signs and stuff in her office.

She would never root against me, so...

Q. Were the signs pro UCLA or pro Northwestern?

MICK CRONIN: They all made her Northwestern signs. She made sure she wore a UCLA shirt to school today (smiling).

Q. The other thing is the defense, obviously you want Jaylen Clark, but the numbers bear out your defense really hasn't had --

MICK CRONIN: It's actually gotten better.

Q. Yeah, went to up No. 1 in KenPom. So how do you --

MICK CRONIN: We're not better without Jaylen Clark. We try to train all year, as you know. We train for this time of year. We don't try to have a good season and then this is the icing on the cake. We try to train for this.

I think our intensity has gone up lately. That's helped. I think Amari being healthy and in game shape, he's had a month and a half now playing since he came back from the injury, has helped.

I think Jaime has definitely taken his deflections, defense, trying to create more steals. He and Amari are definitely trying to make up for some of Jaylen Clark's, some of his absence, with their activity on the defensive end.

We understand. Look, guys, it's going to be a lot tougher tomorrow, a lot tougher. Boo Buie, Chase Audige, those guys are veterans, and they're really good. I mean, they don't need a screen. They can get their own shot off the dribble. They got great one on one ability.

Q. You talked about Northwestern's defensive transformation. How do you think the addition of Chris Lowery has helped them this season?

MICK CRONIN: Is this his first year?

Q. Yes.

MICK CRONIN: See, I live in Hollywood now, so...

I did not know that. I just know they're really good this year. I'm not sure. I don't know much about their season last year. All I can do is speak to this year.

Chris Lowery and I played against each other in Murray State, Southern Illinois. It was a bloodbath, I can tell you that. Chris is great. He had a great run as a head coach. He was there with Matt Painter. I know he does a tremendous job.

His defensive background is as good as there is.

Q. Northwestern is known for throwing a post double out there. How have you prepped for that?

MICK CRONIN: You better be ready for it. It's what they do. Mark of a lot of good teams, whether it's offense or defense, they're really good at what they do.

Like if you watch them play, you know exactly what they're going to do. But that doesn't make it easy to attack 'em. I don't care how much prep you have. Because they're good at it, they do it with great intensity, they do it with great size. Their guards are big. As you know, Audige, I assume, 80 steals, led the Big Ten. I don't know. I would think 80 steals in a season led the Big Ten.

They recover extremely well out of their traps. It's team struggle to hurt them, to answer your question. And everybody knows it's coming, which tells you how good they are at it. That's a credit to their coaching. And they got a veteran team. They got some veteran guys out there.

Q. Talking about deflections, with Jaylen Clark, who has been winning that deflection bone recently?

MICK CRONIN: Tough for me to say. Now, he's only been out four games now, so I don't have that in front of me. I do know Jaime's gone up and Amari's definitely gone up. Those two guys in particular.

Now, Dave is going to claim. It's a big argument after every game. T.J. Wolf is in charge of deflections, and everybody runs in the locker room and starts to argue with T.J. that they had more. They want him to go to the replay.

Q. Players try to bribe T.J.?

MICK CRONIN: I'm sure. T.J. has been with me long enough.

Q. Your players talked about a different brand of basketball in the Big Ten. Tougher, more physical. They said they were up for matching it. What do you want to see from your players? How tough is your team to be able to match up against a team like Northwestern?

MICK CRONIN: Well, you better be ready. They're not going to get out of your way. You got to be able to deal with physicality and contact. That's life in the Big Ten. Always has been.

Nobody's getting out of your way when you go to the basket, as you know. It's really hard to have freedom of movement coming off screens. They're just so well-versed.

You have to be in that league because they all play that way. Not all of 'em, but 95% of the league, maybe 90%. The league's getting so big now, it's hard. Got to start reminding myself who's in the league now before we go in the league.

It's been that way for a long time. That goes back to Steve Yoder and Bob Knight going at it. It's the way the Big Ten game is played.

I think Northwestern, part of their success this year is they've been better at it, at dealing with it, giving it out. That's why they've had so much success. Probably because their guys are a little bit older, a little bit tougher, play a little bit harder on the defensive end. Then you combine that with really good guard play.

But schematically, their coaching, what they do defensively, I really like it. I like what they do because they know who they are and they're never confused. They know what they're going to take away. They know how they're going to take it away regardless of who they're playing.

They post trap, it's not every other game. It's like to the earlier question, they do what they do. The way they do the pick and roll, the way they defend screens. They do it with great intensity. So we better be ready for it.

It's not the first time we played a really good defensive team. But we told our guys it's like we're playing ourselves, schematically, other than trapping the post, which we do at times. It's like we're playing against each other in practice. You better be ready for it.

Q. Having the number of guys that you have that have tournament experience, obviously in a game you can tell how much of a factor it is. In situations like this where you have one day to prepare against a team that you probably haven't played or haven't seen, how helpful is that experience to be able to lock in?

MICK CRONIN: I mean, it doesn't hurt. But what helps more is that we play in the Pac-12, where you play Thursday, Saturday all year. We have been playing Thursday, Saturday. Our guys, they don't know anything else.

This is really normal, other than having to come here and do media. The fact that we don't have to travel in between games. Usually we play Thursday Utah, Saturday at Colorado. Try that one on for size.

Q. Or the Washington trip.

MICK CRONIN: Pick one, you know? But you get to come to L.A., it's like this. You don't have to travel when you come to the L.A. schools.

Look, experience always helps. If you can have talent and experience, you got a better chance. But I'll take talent. I'll take talent. I'll take Amari Bailey getting 18 tomorrow if he can get it for me.

Q. Speaking of Amari Bailey, he committed to UCLA. That coach leaves. You step in. How were you able to gain his confidence and get him to come to UCLA?

MICK CRONIN: Really wasn't hard at all. Amari Bailey's recruitment was one of the easiest things I've ever done. I'm being serious. Like, he committed without a visit. He never, ever took an official visit.

We started talking, and he committed. I didn't even tell my staff. I was recruiting him myself. One day he committed. He told me, Hey, coach, is it all right if I commit on my birthday? He committed to me. We had a talk about things, his mom and I and him. He goes, I'm going to announce it on my birthday, two weeks later.

I said, Whatever you want to do, man.

I forgot. I'm in the middle of a season. He announced his commitment. I walked in that day and the staff is looking at me like, What?

I was like, you know, Be nice if you guys would do something (smiling). Help out a little bit. I hope you guys can sign somebody.

No, it was funny. But, no, it was really easy. He's a no-nonsense guy and so am I. Once we got to know each other, the rest was easy.

Q. Are you going to handle the Adem situation kind of the same as in the first game?

MICK CRONIN: We're getting ready to practice. I'm going to have him do some stuff today to give me a comfort level of where he's at. Some things I hadn't asked him to do up until yesterday. I'm getting ready to test him out more than I have.

Q. I don't think we've ever talked about, Adem and Amari are five-star recruits. How unique are they? How much of a unicorn are they?

MICK CRONIN: You would know this being your job versus mine, but I would say really unique. A lot of freshmen, they're delusional because of other people have told them that it's going to be easy. It's not their kid's fault. They get to college and they're playing against 22-, 23-, 24-year-olds. It's way harder than they thought. They can't play hard enough. The game is too physical. The game is too fast. They're not tough enough yet. It just takes some time. That's 98% of 'em.

I would say very rare. Amari and Adem physically could compete and play hard enough to be able to play from day one. Now, there's some things they had to learn along the way. You get to a comfort level on the offensive end. But to be intense, tough, physical, mature enough to pay attention, all those things, to be able to start basically every game they've played. I think Amari maybe not one because he was coming off that injury.

It speaks to how hard it is. A lot of guys, it's not their fault. They're just not ready yet.

Q. Curious if you've seen the graphic of Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton and Ken Nwuba that's been going around?

MICK CRONIN: I think it's awesome. I mean, Mac was four for four. Why wasn't he on there? I get it, Kenneth had 10 at half, though, right?

Just really happy for both those guys. You don't see on the outside -- people watch your team play, and they don't see how hard the other guys are working. Abramo Canka, Kenneth, Dylan, Will. You know me, I'm a big believer in development. I don't know who is here from Northwestern, but Nicholson is a great example. If there's any Northwestern writers, I mean, he didn't play. He goes from not playing to starting center on an NCAA tournament team from his freshman year to his junior year.

Just shows you. You don't want those guys to get discouraged. When those guys get a chance to play, play well, you're just really happy for them. Because I know what they go through. Somebody told them how many stars they had. We keep talking about that. I'm going to ask if anybody is a general.

You know how hard it is for them. You go from a star to struggling to get in the game. It's a tough, tough transition for a young player, especially if Tracy Pierson at 247Sports puts too many stars on them (laughter).

Q. You've played two Big Ten teams this year in Maryland and Illinois. How much do you look at common opponent game tape to get ready for a team you're not familiar with on a short turnaround?

MICK CRONIN: A lot. But I'm more interested in their last 10 games. Again, if they played somebody that runs a similar offense or defense, as we do, strategically you can see how they defend it, how they defend it in offense similar to ours, how they attack a defense similar to ours. Anything you can pick up.

Obviously Rod Palmer has been scouting them since Sunday at 3:30, whenever it went up on the board in L.A. I'm catching up.

Q. Chris talked about...

MICK CRONIN: My wedge (smiling)?

Q. It came up. He talked about catching a couple of your games this year. How much of Northwestern's games have you watched this season?

MICK CRONIN: They had a couple big wins. Actually, I caught both their Indiana games. We were off for whatever reason. I was sitting in my backyard watching 'em on a weekend when they played Indiana. I remember. I mean, those are big wins.

I know Indiana came back on 'em. That was a wild, wild finish. But I know it was pretty evident they were going to make the tournament at some point. I didn't want to be the jinx, but I texted BJ, Brian James, and said, You're going to get your bonus this year, big boy. Maybe you can buy dinner when I see you on the road.

But I was impressed. Wasn't like I was watching... That's all I do during the season. I'm either watching film or I'll watch other games.

Those games were impressive because obviously Indiana, I think they're a 4 seed. They're really good. They were two very different games. One was crazy high scoring in Bloomington, then the other one they got way up, technical fouls, it was wild, right? Indiana came back. I think Boo Buie hit a big shot to win it, right?

I've seen 'em. It stood out to me when I saw them how much better defensively they seemed to be than when I had seen them before. Chris Lowery effect.

When Chris Collins played at Duke, back then when he played, they were much more defensive-oriented team. Now, he's old (smiling). How old is Chris? He's getting as old as me.

Back in those days, they were a man, tough, defensive team, draw charges, really try to deny you. I'm sure he's gotten back to some of that from his Duke stuff. You can see it in the way they're playing now.

Q. Now that you're further west, as a coach, what does that feel like coming out of that geographical area, coming to the West Coast, California, specifically Los Angeles?

MICK CRONIN: You ever see that one of Tupac's videos, he's got the top down, driving through the flats of Beverly Hills doing this? That's how I feel every day. California love. It feels great.

Although we've had more rain. Rod Palmer told me we've had more rain this year than we've had in 50 years. Worst winter in 50 years. Exponentially better than winter in Cincinnati.

Been great. Got a lot of friends where I'm at. I've always loved Southern California. Fertile recruiting ground. Best tradition in college basketball. It's been refreshing for my career.

This stuff can be a grind. Thirteen years at my alma mater was a great run for me. It was an honor of my lifetime to be able to coach at a school I rooted for growing up.

But getting a chance to be the coach at UCLA, sit in Coach Wooden's seat, has been awesome. I cherish it. Been a great, great time.

Having to deal with COVID. COVID, it was lockdown as everybody knows in California. It's still been awesome. Couldn't even go to the beach, man. Crazy.

Q. Northwestern does not have an extensive history in this tournament. Second time. Do you feel that may be an X factor with you having experience?

MICK CRONIN: I mean, I'll take any advantage you want to give me. But I don't know. I mean, their league was such a blood bath this year. They've been in so many close games. They got some grizzled veterans on this team.

I don't know. Maybe. We'll see. If it's talent or experience, give me talent. Boo Buie's got a lot of talent. I'm not going to worry about his inexperience. I'm worried about his talent.

Maybe. You just never know how things shake out in those type of situations. If I was a Northwestern fan, I wouldn't be worried about their inexperience. In the tournament, meaning.

THE MODERATOR: Okay.

MICK CRONIN: All right, guys.

THE MODERATOR: Thanks, Coach.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

THE MODERATOR: Good evening. We welcome the student-athletes and head coach for UCLA. We have Jaime Jaquez, Coach Cronin, Kenneth Nwuba, and Amari Bailey.

Mick, you mentioned yesterday you get in these situations, and it's so important to score points.

MICK CRONIN: Yes.

THE MODERATOR: You scored points tonight to the tune of 86.

MICK CRONIN: Well, we had 24 assists tonight, which was probably a season high for us. We got off to a great start obviously. 14-0. I'm going to say we had five assists at least in our first six possessions.

But, look, first I want to congratulate Coach Morrell and UNC - Asheville. To win 27 games is hard. To make the NCAA tournament is hard. Their kids are to be commended. Tajion Jones, to become the leading scorer in the history of your school, is a heck of an accomplishment. Drew Pember had an incredible year, Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year.

Tonight is not indicative of the season they had. They ran into a buzz saw tonight. We don't take losing well at UCLA. We spell fun W-I-N. We lost our last game. These guys took it personal. You saw how they came out tonight.

Our defensive intensity and our deflections early in the game I think really rattled them. They could never really get comfortable. We did a great job on their shooters. Jones only made one three, Fletcher maybe one three, Drew Pember only made one. That was our big focus tonight.

Our guys really approached the game with a professional attitude, which is something that we try to focus on. It's not about our opponent, it's about us. We got to make sure we maintain the same level of intensity and preparation for our next game.

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Mick, did you really need to say anything to your players about what happened with Princeton, Furman --

MICK CRONIN: It has no bearing on us. We don't believe in false motivation, so we don't believe that you need your home crowd to win. We don't believe you need two starters to win. We believe that you need toughness and togetherness, playing hard and smart. There's always a way to win, so...

Q. Talk a little bit about, with Adem Bona out, the contributions from your other two post players.

MICK CRONIN: Kenny doesn't surprise me. He's been around. He got off to a great start this year. That injury he had against -- was that Cal? A weird injury against Cal to his hip. You see he's blocking shots in the Pac-12 tournament and again tonight. He's got his bounce back in his step. I mean, it doesn't surprise me. But him and Mac are nine for nine.

Again, you're playing a mid-major team. Somebody alluded to Arizona. You've got to dominate those teams physically. I coached at that level. If you don't get dominated physically, you can win. You can physically dominate those teams, it's hard for them.

32 to 8 points in the paint. These guys were 9 for 9. Kenneth and Mac. Jaime had his way as well inside. We end up plus 32 in the paint. That's what you got to do in games like that. If you don't, if your size and athleticism isn't a factor, then it doesn't matter if you're high major or mid-major. You've got to high major them, and we did that tonight physically.

Q. Pember, you could trap him in the high post...

MICK CRONIN: Look, their point guard is a tough kid. He's not a three-point shooter. We always try to take out the other team's best players. You let the other team's best players come out and get their average or higher, you're in trouble.

We did that at USC. We were in trouble. You got to be able to take out the other team's best players.

Q. Kenny, you had a career high four and a half minutes into the game. What did that feel like out there to be contributing at that level that early in the game?

KENNETH NWUBA: What does it feel like? Amazing (smiling). I mean, just like my message every year. When your name is called, be ready to play. Whether the contribution of yourself to the team, just be able to trust the coaching staff. Just like he said, toughness and togetherness, that's how we win the game. Like a group game; it takes all guys to win, not just one man.

I will say it felt great.

Q. Mick, given these are still college kids, there's a tendency human beings can take things lightly. Did you know you were going to get this out of your team?

MICK CRONIN: It doesn't surprise me because we lost our last game. These guys are trained. We don't take losing lightly. Amari is a freshman. He knows how I am. He's from Chicago. We play to win at UCLA. It's not okay to lose.

I don't care who's hurt, who's out, who you're playing, where the game's at, what the refs are doing with the whistle; you got to find a way to win.

When we lost Saturday, I wasn't happy, but I knew it was going to help us. There's no question it was going to help us. I know these guys. Like, I know how upset this guy was that we didn't win that game Saturday. He was as upset as I've ever seen him. So that helps.

Q. Coach, Amari Bailey, through his year, can you talk about his ability to morph into what the team needs.

MICK CRONIN: Again, we're in an era of playing against 23- and 24-year-olds. He's been 18, turned 19 less than a month ago. There's a lot of high school kids in California that are older than him that we're recruiting.

I think it's just a lot harder than people realize. I'd let him speak to that. To find a comfort zone. You get two comfort zones you got to find. You're trying to find a comfort zone and adjust your game to college defense, college size, or you can go to the basket all the time in high school.

The help, you got to be able to do it with less dribbles. Then you have to find a comfort zone on our team. You're coming in and playing with the Player in of the Year in the Pac-12 in Campbell and Dave, a lot of guys that have been around. It's been a process for he and I of trying to get him to the comfort zone.

It didn't help that he missed a month with the foot. I think that's what you're seeing here lately. He's also embraced the defensive end, which doesn't surprise me. Guy is from the south side of Chicago. He's a tough guy.

Q. Amari, I don't know if you lost on this floor. Talk a little bit coming here and playing again.

AMARI BAILEY: It was just a surreal feeling. It felt like a full-circle moment. I haven't been here in four years, playing for a state championship my freshman year in high school, to then step into my first college March Madness game. I mean, I just had chills running through my body. I just wanted to stay focused and stay present in the moment.

Q. Jaime, you had five steals in the first half. Amari, you had three. Can you speak about how you've been able to keep up the intensity without Jaylen.

JAIME JAQUEZ: I think we're playing a lot for Jaylen this tournament. I know entering into this game, they had a really good guy in Pember. My entire thought process going into the game was doing whatever I could to stop him from getting going.

I took a page out of JROCK's book, trying to get steals, trying to be active with my hands, try to do it for him.

Q. How do you use being upset as fuel to motivate you when something goes bad like Saturday? How do you channel that into a positive?

JAIME JAQUEZ: I mean, I try not to dwell on it 'cause if we lose now, my entire season's done. I don't think it's very hard to get me going or any of the rest of the guys, for that matter. I know this is Kenny's last year, too. We try to get the young guys to understand this, understand that this is a one-and-out tournament and we don't want this to end.

KENNETH NWUBA: To add a little bit to that. The one thing about life is, when you lose something, use that as a motivation because you're not going to win every time. You lose some, you win some. When the next game comes, you use that as a motivation to look at your mistakes and try to correct yourself, not try to lose again.

MICK CRONIN: How about that answer? St. Patrick's Day on the East Coast. Jaylen Clark, we miss you, buddy. You guys done?

I tried to get us out of here (smiling).

Q. Even though he didn't play tonight, didn't need him, do you expect Adem to be ready for Saturday?

MICK CRONIN: I think Adem could have played tonight. He didn't get enough practice for me. We don't practice live a lot right now. But just even with our 5-0 stuff, I want to see him -- there's things I want to see him do comfortably.

But I knew what was going to happen. As soon as he warmed up, he comes running in the locker room, I'm playing, I'm playing.

Easy, big fella.

That's just who he is.

They got Oscar Robertson stuff up here, Cincinnati Royals. You guys have no idea, Amari.

AMARI BAILEY: Nope.

MICK CRONIN: I'm from Cincinnati. I'm focused on the Cincinnati Royals. I don't know if you know that. I see Jack Twyman and Oscar Robertson, guys I was fortunate enough to meet and get to know. Sometimes you get a lot of pleasures in this job, a lot of perks with the job. Many times. Many times. Had cigars with him, yeah. Lives in Cincinnati.

They know who Oscar Robertson is. I don't know about Kenny. Him and Adem were watching a soccer game. They were watching soccer on their phone today.

KENNETH NWUBA: What you expect? That's the sports we play in Nigeria.

MICK CRONIN: A big tournament?

KENNETH NWUBA: Yes.

MICK CRONIN: They were watching soccer.

All right, guys. Thank you.

Bona going through pregame warm-ups

Yeah. I know we don't want to look ahead...but still??