{"id":178114,"date":"2026-02-19T23:27:51","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T04:27:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=178114"},"modified":"2026-02-19T23:27:51","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T04:27:51","slug":"uclas-mick-cronin-has-lost-the-plot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2026\/02\/19\/uclas-mick-cronin-has-lost-the-plot\/","title":{"rendered":"UCLA’s Mick Cronin Has Lost the Plot"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UCLA Bruins<\/a> were picked to be among the top six or seven teams in the Big Ten in 2025-26. Sure, they are still in the thick of the NCAA tournament conversation; however, they have far bigger issues at hand. Head Coach Mick Cronin may have finally hit the breaking point for his tenure. Not only did he accomplish a never-before-seen feat, late in the Bruins game at Michigan State<\/a>. He followed it up with one of the most outlandish responses to a reporter heard.<\/p>\n

Then again, this year has seen Cronin making noise in press conferences for a lot of the wrong reasons.<\/p>\n

UCLA’s Mick Cronin Has Lost the Plot<\/h2>\n

Cronin has always been known to be quite vocal, especially during games. There is nothing wrong with a coach letting his players know they need to do better. However, the way he’s acted this season, he’s been far overboard. You can go back as far as December, when Cronin decided he would make all of his starters come off the bench during a non-conference game.<\/p>\n

He didn’t like his players’ effort<\/a>. That certainly was eye-catching to say the least. But as conference play opened, and the Bruins had to go on the road, a far bigger issue started to arise. He’s seemingly blasted the Big Ten on several occasions, especially about traveling East. Cronin has even had plenty of complaints about a number of things. Not to mention being mad about the effort of his team.<\/p>\n

That brings us to what happened on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Cronin Loses His Mind<\/h3>\n

With only a handful of minutes remaining in a 25-plus point blowout, the second-straight during their two-game trip to the State of Michigan, Cronin seemingly completely lost the plot.<\/p>\n

Reserve big man Steven Jamerson II<\/a> when up after Michigan State’s Carson Cooper<\/a> on a fast-break run-out dunk attempt, and hit him hard enough for the referees to step in.<\/p>\n