University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - Minnesota 64, UCLA 61
POSTGAME QUOTESย
Minnesota 64, UCLA 61
Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescomย
February 18, 2025ย
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coachย
opening statement
โI know you guys want to talk about missed free throws, but I donโt know what you want me to say about that. It doesnโt help. But our defense, on the last play, 25 is a โput your head down and driveโ guy, and the guy guarding him acted like he didnโt know it. He was pressuring him 10 feet outside of the 3-point line for no reason, and there was no help, no rotation. And also, because we didnโt rebound the ball. They get outrebounded on the season, theyโre a negative rebounding team, and they outrebounded us. It was a hugely disappointing effort, thatโs really all I have to say.โย
ย
on the teamโs effort in the second halfย
โYouโll have to ask them. I feel like we didnโt play well, and if I say anything, I throw players under the bus. We didnโt play well, we were poorly coached, and thatโs why we donโt play well. We were so poorly coached that we didnโt know that Dawson Garcia was going to spin back on his left hand, we had two guys on him, and we let him lay it in. So, Iย guess we didnโt go over that. We didnโt go over โDonโt let him just stand there and shoot itโ we didnโt go over โconverge on him like everybody else in our league doesโ. I guess we didnโt go over it, so itโs all on me. If you let the other teamโs leading scorer get 32, you deserve to lose.โย
ย
on his message at halftime
โWe were up 11, but I was upset with some of our guysโ shot selection. We told our guys if they were going to converge on the post, they were going to have to pass it out. Theyโre a no-paint team. We were taking off-balance shots. I told them they werenโt going away; that was my message.โย
ย
onย Minnesotaโs team mentalityย
โI watch their spirit. I do this for a living. I watch teams, and you can see on film that they play like theyโre an NCAA Tournament team. I can tell from their body language, and theyโre competitive, and theyโre the oldest team in the country. Theyโre trying to get to the Big Ten tournament or their season is over in two weeks. Their starting fiveโs careers are over next week, and they were playing like it. So, I told the guys, I told them for a couple of days, but we struggled.โย
ย
onย UCLAโs team mentalityย
โWe havenโt been through this. You win eight out of nine, and you lose humility and you start worrying about everything but defense. Iโve got guys in that locker room that are worried about shooting. Theyโre worrying about shooting, worried about points and if their shot goes in. Theyโre not worried about playing defense and getting the W, and thatโs what happened tonight.โย
ย
on the teamย going 5-for-15 from the free throw lineย
โI hear you with the free throws. Iโm not stupid, I can count. You miss 10 free throws as well as two front ends, itโs as bad as can be. We missed 10 free throws in the second half, and Iโm well aware of that.โย
ย
onย the teamโs focusย
โEven if we had won this game, Iโm trying to build a team that has a chance in the NCAA tournament. Iโm really disappointed that I have guys who are worried about the wrong thing. Itโs a losing mentality to think about whether or not your shot goes in. Weโre worried about the wrong things. We should have been worried about whether or not the free throw was going in! We werenโt tough enough to go play defense. Things arenโt going to go right all the time in life, go play defense.โย
ย
on the teamโs struggles at the beginning of the second halfย
โIt happens because all weโre worried about is our shooting and not playing defense. I know when my teamโs mind is on the wrong stuff. Our crowdโs mind was on the wrong stuff. They make it worse when a guy misses a free throw. The stress in Pauley is crazy when a guy misses a free throw.โย
ย
on whether there was an element of exhaustion in this performanceย
โAbsolutely not. Exhausted from what? We were off Saturday and Sunday. Were they exhausted? No. Toughness wins, and they were tougher than us. Even if we would have won this game, I would have been sick to my stomach at our lack of toughness.โย
ย
on building towards Marchย
โIโm trying to. I failed tonight.โ
ย
UCLA guard Kobe Johnsonย
on the teamโs mentalityย
โWe werenโt the same team that we were today. I donโt know what happened, I donโt know what was in our systems, but we have to be better than we were today. All we can do right now is get better for the next game, get better for Ohio State, but this game shows us that weโre beatable. Any team can beat us in this league. We have to come out and be prepared from here on out.โย
ย
on the message in the locker room after this lossย
โWeโve just got to be better. We played terrible on defense, gave up way more baskets than we should have by not being in the right spots on defense. We've got to be better at following the game plan.โย
ย
onย the teamโs mentality on defenseย
โWe have to know that we can score whatever we want, but we have to be able to play defense at the same time. We canโt keep going back and forth and playing horse with the other team. We need to put together a bunch of stops and be able to build the lead.โย
ย
onย their inability to guard Dawson Garcia in the second halfย
โWe stopped following the scouting report on him. I thought we followed the scouting report pretty well in the first half, but in the second half, we let him get comfortable and do whatever he wanted. He showed us what he can do.โย
ย
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeauย
on whether or not the crowd contributed to the missed free throwsย
โNo, thatโs on the individual. I have to take accountability on that, I canโt miss free throws like that. I just have to be better.โย
ย
on losing after having the leadย
โThereโs not much to say โ itโs unacceptable. But thereโs nothing we can do about it now; we just have to focus on the next one.โย
ย
Minnesota head coach Ben Johnsonย
opening statementย
โWe have a ton of respect for that team and that coach. We were going to have to play beyond our best to have a chance. They made us play our best.โย
ย
on the weekend series against UCLA and USCย
โThis is a huge momentum for us. You want to be playing your best basketball at this time of year. You want to be sharp and just be playing your best basketball.โย
ย
on which players on his team stood out at UCLA
โObviously, Dawson [Garcia], but Patterson really willed us with his energy and his spirit. His will alone when we were down. He told the guys not to give up. His competitive spirit really helped us.โย
ย
onย where they go from hereย
โWe are tough, team detail-oriented, and we can compete with anyone in this conference. In this league we have to remain who we are.โ
ย
Minnesota 64, UCLA 61
Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescomย
February 18, 2025ย
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coachย
opening statement
โI know you guys want to talk about missed free throws, but I donโt know what you want me to say about that. It doesnโt help. But our defense, on the last play, 25 is a โput your head down and driveโ guy, and the guy guarding him acted like he didnโt know it. He was pressuring him 10 feet outside of the 3-point line for no reason, and there was no help, no rotation. And also, because we didnโt rebound the ball. They get outrebounded on the season, theyโre a negative rebounding team, and they outrebounded us. It was a hugely disappointing effort, thatโs really all I have to say.โย
ย
on the teamโs effort in the second halfย
โYouโll have to ask them. I feel like we didnโt play well, and if I say anything, I throw players under the bus. We didnโt play well, we were poorly coached, and thatโs why we donโt play well. We were so poorly coached that we didnโt know that Dawson Garcia was going to spin back on his left hand, we had two guys on him, and we let him lay it in. So, Iย guess we didnโt go over that. We didnโt go over โDonโt let him just stand there and shoot itโ we didnโt go over โconverge on him like everybody else in our league doesโ. I guess we didnโt go over it, so itโs all on me. If you let the other teamโs leading scorer get 32, you deserve to lose.โย
ย
on his message at halftime
โWe were up 11, but I was upset with some of our guysโ shot selection. We told our guys if they were going to converge on the post, they were going to have to pass it out. Theyโre a no-paint team. We were taking off-balance shots. I told them they werenโt going away; that was my message.โย
ย
onย Minnesotaโs team mentalityย
โI watch their spirit. I do this for a living. I watch teams, and you can see on film that they play like theyโre an NCAA Tournament team. I can tell from their body language, and theyโre competitive, and theyโre the oldest team in the country. Theyโre trying to get to the Big Ten tournament or their season is over in two weeks. Their starting fiveโs careers are over next week, and they were playing like it. So, I told the guys, I told them for a couple of days, but we struggled.โย
ย
onย UCLAโs team mentalityย
โWe havenโt been through this. You win eight out of nine, and you lose humility and you start worrying about everything but defense. Iโve got guys in that locker room that are worried about shooting. Theyโre worrying about shooting, worried about points and if their shot goes in. Theyโre not worried about playing defense and getting the W, and thatโs what happened tonight.โย
ย
on the teamย going 5-for-15 from the free throw lineย
โI hear you with the free throws. Iโm not stupid, I can count. You miss 10 free throws as well as two front ends, itโs as bad as can be. We missed 10 free throws in the second half, and Iโm well aware of that.โย
ย
onย the teamโs focusย
โEven if we had won this game, Iโm trying to build a team that has a chance in the NCAA tournament. Iโm really disappointed that I have guys who are worried about the wrong thing. Itโs a losing mentality to think about whether or not your shot goes in. Weโre worried about the wrong things. We should have been worried about whether or not the free throw was going in! We werenโt tough enough to go play defense. Things arenโt going to go right all the time in life, go play defense.โย
ย
on the teamโs struggles at the beginning of the second halfย
โIt happens because all weโre worried about is our shooting and not playing defense. I know when my teamโs mind is on the wrong stuff. Our crowdโs mind was on the wrong stuff. They make it worse when a guy misses a free throw. The stress in Pauley is crazy when a guy misses a free throw.โย
ย
on whether there was an element of exhaustion in this performanceย
โAbsolutely not. Exhausted from what? We were off Saturday and Sunday. Were they exhausted? No. Toughness wins, and they were tougher than us. Even if we would have won this game, I would have been sick to my stomach at our lack of toughness.โย
ย
on building towards Marchย
โIโm trying to. I failed tonight.โ
ย
UCLA guard Kobe Johnsonย
on the teamโs mentalityย
โWe werenโt the same team that we were today. I donโt know what happened, I donโt know what was in our systems, but we have to be better than we were today. All we can do right now is get better for the next game, get better for Ohio State, but this game shows us that weโre beatable. Any team can beat us in this league. We have to come out and be prepared from here on out.โย
ย
on the message in the locker room after this lossย
โWeโve just got to be better. We played terrible on defense, gave up way more baskets than we should have by not being in the right spots on defense. We've got to be better at following the game plan.โย
ย
onย the teamโs mentality on defenseย
โWe have to know that we can score whatever we want, but we have to be able to play defense at the same time. We canโt keep going back and forth and playing horse with the other team. We need to put together a bunch of stops and be able to build the lead.โย
ย
onย their inability to guard Dawson Garcia in the second halfย
โWe stopped following the scouting report on him. I thought we followed the scouting report pretty well in the first half, but in the second half, we let him get comfortable and do whatever he wanted. He showed us what he can do.โย
ย
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeauย
on whether or not the crowd contributed to the missed free throwsย
โNo, thatโs on the individual. I have to take accountability on that, I canโt miss free throws like that. I just have to be better.โย
ย
on losing after having the leadย
โThereโs not much to say โ itโs unacceptable. But thereโs nothing we can do about it now; we just have to focus on the next one.โย
ย
Minnesota head coach Ben Johnsonย
opening statementย
โWe have a ton of respect for that team and that coach. We were going to have to play beyond our best to have a chance. They made us play our best.โย
ย
on the weekend series against UCLA and USCย
โThis is a huge momentum for us. You want to be playing your best basketball at this time of year. You want to be sharp and just be playing your best basketball.โย
ย
on which players on his team stood out at UCLA
โObviously, Dawson [Garcia], but Patterson really willed us with his energy and his spirit. His will alone when we were down. He told the guys not to give up. His competitive spirit really helped us.โย
ย
onย where they go from hereย
โWe are tough, team detail-oriented, and we can compete with anyone in this conference. In this league we have to remain who we are.โ
ย