INDIANAPOLIS — Mick Cronin is aware of what it’s prefer to lose by successful a convention event that performs its championship recreation on Choice Sunday.
It occurred his final two seasons at Cincinnati.
“We played the last game and we found out where we were going for the NCAA tournament while we were cutting down nets or sitting in the locker room eating a cold pizza,” Cronin mentioned in October. “Then you’ve got to fly home, then you’ve got to fly back to wherever you’re being sent. It’s not ideal, I can tell you that.”
In 2018, Cronin’s Bearcats performed 5 days after successful the American Athletic Convention event title. They reached the second spherical of the NCAA event, dropping to Nevada.
The subsequent yr it was the identical fast turnaround, and the Bearcats misplaced to Iowa within the first spherical of the NCAA event.
As Cronin’s UCLA Bruins put together to open the Huge Ten event in a quarterfinal recreation Friday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, they have to steadiness the need for fulfillment with the conclusion that this isn’t the event that actually issues.
“At UCLA, we win the conference tournament and people are going to be excited for about 45 minutes,” Cronin mentioned with fun. “And that’s anywhere. We’re in an era where the NCAA tournament has become everything, and I’m not saying it’s all good. I don’t care who wins the conference tournament — even if we do. It’s going to be hard as hell to do, but I hope we don’t run out of gas if we do it because the real tournament starts about four or five days after.”
Earlier this week, Cronin mentioned he was considering a brand new journey recreation plan, even calling Oregon coach Dana Altman to get his enter. Ought to the Bruins attain the championship recreation Sunday, Cronin mentioned it could be extra useful to remain in Indianapolis and “just do our laundry” than to fly again to Los Angeles with the prospect his group would possibly must board one other flight two days later for its first NCAA event recreation.
In fact, this dilemma is contingent on one vital growth.
“You’ve got to try to get to Sunday first,” Cronin mentioned.
Winner of 11 of its final 14 video games, fourth-seeded UCLA (22-9) will open the event in opposition to fifth-seeded Wisconsin (23-8), Twelfth-seeded Minnesota (15-16) or Thirteenth-seeded Northwestern (16-15).
A fast exit might have some advantages. UCLA reached the Last 4 in 2021 after dropping a Pac-12 event quarterfinal to Oregon, exhibiting the dearth of correlation between success in a single event and the opposite.
There’s additionally an elevated harm danger the deeper the Bruins go within the convention event. Two years in the past heart Adem Bona suffered a shoulder harm in a Pac-12 event semifinal that restricted his availability within the NCAA event.
Then there’s the flip aspect. A Huge Ten event title might give the Bruins greater than a fast burst of dopamine and a banner to place up contained in the observe facility.
At the moment projected as a No. 6 seed within the NCAA event by Bracketmatrix.com, which aggregates bracket projections, UCLA in all probability might rise as excessive as a No. 4 seed. That threshold comes with a serious profit — as a so-called protected seed, the Bruins can be positioned in a detailed geographic area, in all probability both in Seattle or Denver, that means lowered journey and extra fan help.
Cronin mentioned he was far more involved about location than seeding on condition that his solely group to achieve the Last 4 began the NCAA event as a No. 11 seed pressured to play a First 4 recreation.
Even when the Bruins don’t get hold of a protected seed, Cronin mentioned, he hoped the NCAA event choice committee would make allowances for the group’s brutal journey schedule. This shall be UCLA’s third journey to Indiana within the final 5 weeks, prompting Cronin to joke that he would want to pay taxes within the Hoosier state.
“We’re on the quarter system, OK?” Cronin mentioned. “We’ve got finals coming, the last week of school and you know where we’ve been in January and February, so for me, I would hope that there’s some consideration for the travel piece.”
If nothing else, touring midway throughout the nation to play in a win-or-go-home event will put together the Bruins for what they will count on per week from now.
“You’re fighting for a title, for a Big Ten championship, so it means something,” senior guard Lazar Stefanovic mentioned. “Every game you go into, you go into to win. So that’s how we’re preparing, nothing else changes. We’re trying to win.”
