Postgame Quotes – North Carolina 76, UCLA 74
POSTGAME QUOTES
North Carolina 76, UCLA 74
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
December 21, 2024
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“We missed eight free throws in the second half. We definitely missed the bonus on seven and eight, so eight missed free throws was really 10. We had at least 10 missed opportunities at the foul line in the second half of the game. It’s hard to win when your point guard is minus 14 and turning it over late in the game. And then you miss big free throws in the second half.”
on Tyler Bilodeau’s performance
“Tyler played great. I’m not going to comment on officiating – him going out changed the game. If they hadn’t given him the charge, we would be having a different press conference. We kept him out until under five, especially with the way the game was being called.”
on Eric Dailey Jr. playing less than one minute in the second half
“He took a shot to the face in the first half.”
on whether this game had a silver lining
“No. Zero. There are no silver linings in losses. You’ve got to make free throws. Your point guard has to take care of the ball at the end of the game. That’s what real teams do. You’ve got veteran guys out there. You have to make free throws and you have to take care of the ball. Also, on the last play, you’ve got a trap going on with Dylan and those same two guys against RJ and they foul him. What are we doing fouling the guy? Skyy fouls out. You don’t foul with the game on the line. My teams don’t do stuff like that. I’m still fighting to get this group to where we were a couple years ago. It’s hard to find guys as smart as Tyger Campbell.”
on the second half of the game
“The only adjustment that mattered in the second half was Tyler Bilodeau’s fourth foul. Their lineup was not tough. The problem was that Tyler Bilodeau wasn’t in. We played four guards for the whole second half. They’ve got seven McDonald’s All Americans and a great coach.”
on being out-rebounded
“We were in three of the last four [games] – Oregon, Arizona, and North Carolina. It’s hard to play big against them. I’d like to play a bigger lineup, but Eric Dailey took a shot to the face. He didn’t play well early, and then he took the shot to his face. I could tell he wasn’t himself. He passed the [medical] tests though. I didn’t think rebounding was the difference in the game. You miss eight free throws in the second half and Tyler Bilodeau sits for half of the second half, that’s the problem. And then we still got the lead but we turned it over. After a time out, with a veteran point guard. You’ve got to deserve the win. The game’s 40 minutes. UNC is used to being down 16, they’re down 16 every game, they’re used to it. I told the guys that they were going to keep coming, keep playing faster. We fouled way too much. You get what you deserve.”
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau
on his foul trouble
“It’s always frustrating because I want to be in the game and help my teammates out.”
on how sitting impacted his mindset
“I felt pretty locked in for the whole game.”
on why the team struggled down the stretch
“There’s a lot of factors that go into it, missed free throws especially, and that’s on me. I can’t miss four free throws down the stretch there. Turnovers too. We’ve got to be better at taking care of the ball.”
North Carolina 76, UCLA 74
New York, N.Y. (Madison Square Garden)
December 21, 2024
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Men’s Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
“We missed eight free throws in the second half. We definitely missed the bonus on seven and eight, so eight missed free throws was really 10. We had at least 10 missed opportunities at the foul line in the second half of the game. It’s hard to win when your point guard is minus 14 and turning it over late in the game. And then you miss big free throws in the second half.”
on Tyler Bilodeau’s performance
“Tyler played great. I’m not going to comment on officiating – him going out changed the game. If they hadn’t given him the charge, we would be having a different press conference. We kept him out until under five, especially with the way the game was being called.”
on Eric Dailey Jr. playing less than one minute in the second half
“He took a shot to the face in the first half.”
on whether this game had a silver lining
“No. Zero. There are no silver linings in losses. You’ve got to make free throws. Your point guard has to take care of the ball at the end of the game. That’s what real teams do. You’ve got veteran guys out there. You have to make free throws and you have to take care of the ball. Also, on the last play, you’ve got a trap going on with Dylan and those same two guys against RJ and they foul him. What are we doing fouling the guy? Skyy fouls out. You don’t foul with the game on the line. My teams don’t do stuff like that. I’m still fighting to get this group to where we were a couple years ago. It’s hard to find guys as smart as Tyger Campbell.”
on the second half of the game
“The only adjustment that mattered in the second half was Tyler Bilodeau’s fourth foul. Their lineup was not tough. The problem was that Tyler Bilodeau wasn’t in. We played four guards for the whole second half. They’ve got seven McDonald’s All Americans and a great coach.”
on being out-rebounded
“We were in three of the last four [games] – Oregon, Arizona, and North Carolina. It’s hard to play big against them. I’d like to play a bigger lineup, but Eric Dailey took a shot to the face. He didn’t play well early, and then he took the shot to his face. I could tell he wasn’t himself. He passed the [medical] tests though. I didn’t think rebounding was the difference in the game. You miss eight free throws in the second half and Tyler Bilodeau sits for half of the second half, that’s the problem. And then we still got the lead but we turned it over. After a time out, with a veteran point guard. You’ve got to deserve the win. The game’s 40 minutes. UNC is used to being down 16, they’re down 16 every game, they’re used to it. I told the guys that they were going to keep coming, keep playing faster. We fouled way too much. You get what you deserve.”
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau
on his foul trouble
“It’s always frustrating because I want to be in the game and help my teammates out.”
on how sitting impacted his mindset
“I felt pretty locked in for the whole game.”
on why the team struggled down the stretch
“There’s a lot of factors that go into it, missed free throws especially, and that’s on me. I can’t miss four free throws down the stretch there. Turnovers too. We’ve got to be better at taking care of the ball.”