By Bill Koch
UCLA fans are finding out what UC fans have known for some time: When it comes to the postseason, if Mick Cronin didn’t have bad luck, he’d have no luck at all.
The Bruins’ 79-76 loss last night to Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 on a 30-foot shot by Julian Strawther with six seconds remaining takes its place in UCLA’s illustrious history alongside Jalen Suggs’ running 30-foot shot that gave Gonzaga a 93-90 victory over the Bruins in the 2021 Final Four, costing UCLA a shot at its 12th national title, its first since 1995.
It was the latest in a series of crushing postseason losses for Cronin that started while he was at UC.
Remember the 2016 AAC Tournament quarterfinals when the Bearcats took a 3-point lead on Kevin Johnson’s trey with .8 remaining in the third overtime against UConn, only to have Jalen Adams hit a 70-foot shot to send the game into a fourth overtime, where the Huskies went on to win, 104-97?
The following week, Cronin tried to put the notion of bad luck behind the Bearcats as they prepared to play St. Joseph’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s time for us to get lucky,” Cronin said, “because we haven’t had much. Let’s get all bad luck, unfairness and bad things out of the way. It’s our time to be lucky.”
That turned out to be nothing more than wishful thinking when Octavius Ellis’ dunk at the buzzer, which appeared to send the game into overtime, was disallowed when the officials ruled that time had expired before the ball left Ellis’ hands, leaving the Bearcats with a 78-76 loss.
And, of course, UC fans will never forget the 2018 NCAA Tournament game against Nevada when the Bearcats squandered a 22-point lead with 11:37 remaining to fall to the Wolf Pack, 75-73.
Back in December 2017, after UC had defeated UCLA during a regular-season game at Pauley Pavilion, I boarded the team plane for the long flight home. As I walked past Cronin, who was sitting at the front of the plane with his dad, he stopped me, and said, “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”
In his mind, beating UCLA at Pauley was the signature victory that proved UC had fully returned to take its place among the nation’s elite programs after a massive rebuilding job.
Cronin couldn’t have known then that in less than two years, he would be the head coach at UCLA - or that his bad luck in the postseason would follow him to the West Coast.
“It’s time for us to get lucky,” Cronin said after that four-overtime loss to UConn.
He’s still waiting.
UCLA fans are finding out what UC fans have known for some time: When it comes to the postseason, if Mick Cronin didn’t have bad luck, he’d have no luck at all.
The Bruins’ 79-76 loss last night to Gonzaga in the Sweet 16 on a 30-foot shot by Julian Strawther with six seconds remaining takes its place in UCLA’s illustrious history alongside Jalen Suggs’ running 30-foot shot that gave Gonzaga a 93-90 victory over the Bruins in the 2021 Final Four, costing UCLA a shot at its 12th national title, its first since 1995.
It was the latest in a series of crushing postseason losses for Cronin that started while he was at UC.
Remember the 2016 AAC Tournament quarterfinals when the Bearcats took a 3-point lead on Kevin Johnson’s trey with .8 remaining in the third overtime against UConn, only to have Jalen Adams hit a 70-foot shot to send the game into a fourth overtime, where the Huskies went on to win, 104-97?
The following week, Cronin tried to put the notion of bad luck behind the Bearcats as they prepared to play St. Joseph’s in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
“It’s time for us to get lucky,” Cronin said, “because we haven’t had much. Let’s get all bad luck, unfairness and bad things out of the way. It’s our time to be lucky.”
That turned out to be nothing more than wishful thinking when Octavius Ellis’ dunk at the buzzer, which appeared to send the game into overtime, was disallowed when the officials ruled that time had expired before the ball left Ellis’ hands, leaving the Bearcats with a 78-76 loss.
And, of course, UC fans will never forget the 2018 NCAA Tournament game against Nevada when the Bearcats squandered a 22-point lead with 11:37 remaining to fall to the Wolf Pack, 75-73.
Back in December 2017, after UC had defeated UCLA during a regular-season game at Pauley Pavilion, I boarded the team plane for the long flight home. As I walked past Cronin, who was sitting at the front of the plane with his dad, he stopped me, and said, “We’ve come a long way, haven’t we?”
In his mind, beating UCLA at Pauley was the signature victory that proved UC had fully returned to take its place among the nation’s elite programs after a massive rebuilding job.
Cronin couldn’t have known then that in less than two years, he would be the head coach at UCLA - or that his bad luck in the postseason would follow him to the West Coast.
“It’s time for us to get lucky,” Cronin said after that four-overtime loss to UConn.
He’s still waiting.
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