After a recent loss to the California Golden Bears, the UCLA Bruins men are showing early signs of struggles, and head coach Mick Cronin isn’t happy. As he zeroed in on the issue, he made things clear. This is something that’s been brewing far longer than just one bad night.

Addressing the media in the post-game interview, coach Cronin said, “Our team attitude was terrible – it’s been a problem for a month. It affects performance. You get in a ring against somebody that wants to fight, you give them confidence early, you’re in for a fight, aside from the fact that we can’t make a free throw.”

With just a month into the 2025-26 NCAA season, this loss (80-72) marks the second for the Bruins, and the simple answer to why they lost is that they just didn’t look like a team ready to win. They let the Golden Bears take control of the game early and never really regained momentum. Even with some solid stretches from guys like Trent Perry and Eric Dailey Jr., the overall effort of the team wasn’t close to what this game required.

For a team ranked No. 18, the Bruins shot just 13-of-23 at the free-throw line and barely 41% from the field. Now, combine that with 32% from the three-point, as the team only made 7 out of 22 shots they took. Thanks to that, their paint (32–24) and rebounding advantage (41–35) never really paid off.

Cal canceled those out by hitting 50% from deep, gaining 12 points on UCLA from beyond the arc, and earning a four-point edge at the line. The Bears also turned 11 UCLA turnovers into 17 points. Afterward, Cronin further noted how the Bruins finished with only 20 deflections, possibly their lowest mark in five years.

What left the fans most disappointed, though, wasn’t the loss, but the performance of Donovan Dent, the Mountain West Player of the Year and AP All-American honourable mention pick from last season, who failed to live up to the hype. The Bruins’ senior guard gave his worst performance of the season, finishing with just 3 points on 1-of-8 shooting, in which one point he scored was on the free throw line out of four shots he attempted.

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Dent’s late-game exit with a possible lower-leg injury only made things tougher, as he had to limp off the court. And it’s clear the team is still feeling the absence of leading scorer Tyler Bilodeau. Cronin, hence, went on to criticize the team’s entitlement, pointing out that no one rises to the occasion when the intensity ramps up.

“When things don’t go, we fold. We get soft and panic real quick. Although we’re an older team, we lack a toughness right now”.

Well, these have been recurring issues with the Bruins, even if they didn’t scream in their matchups against easier opponents. In their game against Sacramento State, Cronin even sat the starters for the first few minutes, but the message clearly didn’t stick.

The Golden Bears entered this matchup having lost 12 of their last 13 games to UCLA. Yet they were the tougher team and recorded their sixth win of the season. Overall, this game wasn’t just a bad night. It was a loss that exposed bigger issues UCLA can’t afford to ignore further in the season, or else they will have an early Déjà vu.

Mick Cronin also shoulders the blame

The scene feels eerily similar to last season, when UCLA went through a prolonged slump. They managed a brief recovery, but inconsistent play capped their NCAA Tournament hopes at a No. 7 seed, which hardly offers the chance to go till the Sweet 16 or beyond. Once again, the team appears average, a level of performance Westwood won’t tolerate.

Amidst which, Cronin also spoke about the weight he shoulders. “I’ll take the blame. You guys can read the stat sheet, you saw the game, you make your own assessments, [but] when it comes to the game, how we play is my responsibility,” Cronin said before adding, “They deserved to win, they came ready to play, we had some guys that did not – that’s on me. It is what it is. Congratulations, they kicked our a–.”

As for Dent and his struggles, Cronin again clarified how he will have to step up, saying, “He’s got to play better if we’re going to have a chance. Somehow, I gotta help him do that.”

Tuesday night will be a game the Bruins won’t easily forget, and the only way to turn things around is to respond strongly in the upcoming matchups. The team has played seven matches so far, out of which they have already lost 2. The other loss was against the Arizona Wildcats on November 14th. However, the season continues to progress, and Cronin has no choice but to address these issues promptly. The good thing? He knows exactly what he has to do.

“We’re going to toughen up or it’s going to be a long year,” Cronin said. “You can’t have a glass jaw, you know, that’s scary right now for us. Like, that’s got me nervous.”

“We’re good if things go well. I don’t think we’re very good if things don’t go well,” he added. “Until we get some leadership on our team, at the guard position would help, and not panic with the ball… We tried to go one-on-five, get our shot blocked, get our fourth foul. We go one-on-five and get six, seven turnovers.”

The Bruins will play their next game on December 3 against the Washington Huskies, giving Mick Cronin the time he needs to address these issues before Oregon and Gonzaga try to leverage their weaknesses in the upcoming schedule.