University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - Purdue 76, UCLA 66
POSTGAME QUOTESย
Purdue 76, UCLA 66
West Lafayette, Ind. (Mackey Arena)
February 28, 2025ย
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coachย
on what went wrong at the end of the gameย
โOur defense wasnโt quick enough to win. We had too many turnovers. We had 14 turnovers and we were minus five on the turnover chart. We donโt do that. And they were unforced. To give Purdue credit, their backs were against the wall tonight, and we got their best effort. We couldnโt handle it. I thought it was a close game, we took a few iffy shots, but then the bottom line was we couldnโt stop them. Defensively, I thought Will did okay, but he didnโt get to play a lot. Willโs plus five โ everybody else is in the minus. Weโve got guys that are minus 10 [and] 19. We didnโt get the job done defensively. Give them credit, they have a hell of a team, and Smithโs a great player. A couple weeks ago, when the bracket came out, they were a three seed. They were sold out with an unbelievable crowd and they knew they had to will their team to victory. In this league, you can play well. We did for about 32 minutes. It was somewhere around the seven-minute mark in the game is when they went on their run. But even when weโre were playing well, and it was a close back-and-forth game, we got the lead in the second half, I was never happy with us defensively. Never happy with us defensively. I say this every time, but real teams, they can defend for 40 minutes. Teams that are going to march on, they can defend for 40 minutes. We just couldnโt do it tonight.โ
ย
on struggling to hit jump shots on offense
โWe struggled to pass. And at times, we arenโt the best passing team. I have to watch some film.โ
on how this loss can affect UCLAโs seed at the Big Ten Tournament
โI could care less about the seeding. This was a great opportunity against a hell of a team in a sold-out building that was going to try to will their team to victory because they were desperate for a win. If we could have overcome that tonight, it would have been monumental. We played well for a long period of time, but even with that, our shot making and defense was not what I want it to be. That is the challenge โ thatโs the challenge with us. There was a time when we were one of the top five defensive teams.โ ย
ย
on what must improve for UCLA on defense
โOur pick and roll coverage is terrible, and our post defense.โ
ย
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeauย
on the physicality of the game at Purdue
โIt was a really physical game. I think they were a little more physical than us. [Kaufman-Renn] He is a great player and he played a great game tonight.โ
ย
on guarding Purdueโs Trey Kaufman-Rennย
โHeโs really strong, and when he gets to his right hand, he can make a lot of contested shots.โย
ย
onย the teamโs defenseย
โWe have to pay more attention to the scouting report, and I think we need to do a better job at stopping the ball.โย
ย
onย the teamโs offense down the stretchย
โWe had some turnovers, and they got a couple of rebounds, too. They hurt us when they went on that run.โย
ย
onย the teamโs shot selection
โI think we should have tried to get the ball more and get the open three when they trapped. We have to learn from it.โย
ย
onย his takeaways from this game ย
โWe need to watch film, watch the breakdowns. We started the game with way too many turnovers. We need to eliminate those. I thought we did a decent job on the glass offensive rebounding. It could have been better in the second, I think we let up a bit in the second half. We just need to learn from this on and get ready for the next one.โย
ย
UCLA guard Sebastian Mackย
on the difference in his play in the first and second halvesย
โWe had so many lapses that it was hard to get a flow going. We were making mistakes and they were just getting out on the break and doing what they do best. I feel like we struggled today on the defensive end. We didnโt follow what Coach said, and that hurt us a lot.โย
ย
on how the Bruins can improve defensively
โPay attention and listen. Those are the only two things. And we have to have that heart to go out there and fight.โย
ย
onย Purdueโs late game threes
โThere were breakdowns. We werenโt paying attention or listening to what we needed to do.โย
ย
onย their last two regular season gamesย
โWe need to listen and fight, come out there swinging.โ
ย
Purdue 76, UCLA 66
West Lafayette, Ind. (Mackey Arena)
February 28, 2025ย
ย
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coachย
on what went wrong at the end of the gameย
โOur defense wasnโt quick enough to win. We had too many turnovers. We had 14 turnovers and we were minus five on the turnover chart. We donโt do that. And they were unforced. To give Purdue credit, their backs were against the wall tonight, and we got their best effort. We couldnโt handle it. I thought it was a close game, we took a few iffy shots, but then the bottom line was we couldnโt stop them. Defensively, I thought Will did okay, but he didnโt get to play a lot. Willโs plus five โ everybody else is in the minus. Weโve got guys that are minus 10 [and] 19. We didnโt get the job done defensively. Give them credit, they have a hell of a team, and Smithโs a great player. A couple weeks ago, when the bracket came out, they were a three seed. They were sold out with an unbelievable crowd and they knew they had to will their team to victory. In this league, you can play well. We did for about 32 minutes. It was somewhere around the seven-minute mark in the game is when they went on their run. But even when weโre were playing well, and it was a close back-and-forth game, we got the lead in the second half, I was never happy with us defensively. Never happy with us defensively. I say this every time, but real teams, they can defend for 40 minutes. Teams that are going to march on, they can defend for 40 minutes. We just couldnโt do it tonight.โ
ย
on struggling to hit jump shots on offense
โWe struggled to pass. And at times, we arenโt the best passing team. I have to watch some film.โ
on how this loss can affect UCLAโs seed at the Big Ten Tournament
โI could care less about the seeding. This was a great opportunity against a hell of a team in a sold-out building that was going to try to will their team to victory because they were desperate for a win. If we could have overcome that tonight, it would have been monumental. We played well for a long period of time, but even with that, our shot making and defense was not what I want it to be. That is the challenge โ thatโs the challenge with us. There was a time when we were one of the top five defensive teams.โ ย
ย
on what must improve for UCLA on defense
โOur pick and roll coverage is terrible, and our post defense.โ
ย
UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeauย
on the physicality of the game at Purdue
โIt was a really physical game. I think they were a little more physical than us. [Kaufman-Renn] He is a great player and he played a great game tonight.โ
ย
on guarding Purdueโs Trey Kaufman-Rennย
โHeโs really strong, and when he gets to his right hand, he can make a lot of contested shots.โย
ย
onย the teamโs defenseย
โWe have to pay more attention to the scouting report, and I think we need to do a better job at stopping the ball.โย
ย
onย the teamโs offense down the stretchย
โWe had some turnovers, and they got a couple of rebounds, too. They hurt us when they went on that run.โย
ย
onย the teamโs shot selection
โI think we should have tried to get the ball more and get the open three when they trapped. We have to learn from it.โย
ย
onย his takeaways from this game ย
โWe need to watch film, watch the breakdowns. We started the game with way too many turnovers. We need to eliminate those. I thought we did a decent job on the glass offensive rebounding. It could have been better in the second, I think we let up a bit in the second half. We just need to learn from this on and get ready for the next one.โย
ย
UCLA guard Sebastian Mackย
on the difference in his play in the first and second halvesย
โWe had so many lapses that it was hard to get a flow going. We were making mistakes and they were just getting out on the break and doing what they do best. I feel like we struggled today on the defensive end. We didnโt follow what Coach said, and that hurt us a lot.โย
ย
on how the Bruins can improve defensively
โPay attention and listen. Those are the only two things. And we have to have that heart to go out there and fight.โย
ย
onย Purdueโs late game threes
โThere were breakdowns. We werenโt paying attention or listening to what we needed to do.โย
ย
onย their last two regular season gamesย
โWe need to listen and fight, come out there swinging.โ
ย