University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - Wisconsin 80, UCLA 72
POSTGAME QUOTES
Wisconsin 80, UCLA 72
Madison, Wis. (Kohl Center)
January 6, 2026
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
โObviously, our offensive struggles to start the game, again, put us in an insurmountable hole. Defensively, our offensive struggles were so bad that it had our heads messed up on the other end, and we werenโt able to keep Boyd out of the lane. So, he shot 10 free throws, and he had five easy assists, some of those were for threes, which got us in foul trouble. Got us way down. Then Trent gets hurt, Eric Freeny has to play 23 minutes tonight. Brandon Williams comes up with a stomach flu. I really wanted to see him, he asked out after a minute and a half into the game. He was our best player in practice yesterday and I wanted to see our lineup with him at full strength. It was a patchwork crew that we were fighting back with.
ย
โOur scouting report, we did a bad job on Boyd, especially in the first half. We talked about their transition, how you have to get back, build a wall, and get matched up โ the opposite of Iowa, who walks it up. When you give away 15-20 points, because we just didnโt get back and get matched up, and just simple stuff, you canโt win. Itโs literally like saying Wisconsin is up 20, now let's tip it off and try to beat them. Youโre just giving those points away. You see what happens when we get back and get matched up, play solid defense, you get stops. In the second half, they are 10-for-27, and really, their only baskets, most of them, we didnโt stop the ball again in transition.
ย
โWe still have not learned how to give ourselves a chance in a big game like this on the road. Arizona, we guarded them, we could have easily won that game, but that game was played in LA. Gonzaga, we played the game in the Bay Area, obviously Iowa and here defensively, we gave ourselves no chance. When you go to teach a team how to win, 72 [points] should be enough. When you have to go on the road and score 82, in the Big Ten, this is the Big Ten, this isnโt the Pac-12. How many times will you have to go on the road and score 81 in another team's gym? If we had made more threes, we would have won, we lost by eight, and we were 1-for-17. There are a lot of good things, but not having Skyy didnโt help.โ
on the Bruins using a few rotating lineups
โI have to watch the film. I have to get Eric going. Heโs 9-for-12 inside the line and 0-for-5 outside. He hasnโt made a three since we played Oregon, but three of his threes went in and out tonight. He cares so much. People are just letting him shoot right now. I would tell you that to shoot 46 percent overall on the road, you should have a chance to win. Defensively, itโs hard to win when you give up 80, and 45 in the first half. We have to get better at our scouting report. We got some guys who have to learn how to stay in front of the ball. Basic things, basic things. We have some guys who need to learn how to stay in front of the basketball. We just have to keep working on them. If you canโt keep the ball, like the first half we didnโt contain the ball, so it was layup or kick-out three. They had us on the run because we kept getting beat off the dribble, same thing at Iowa. That is the number one thing, that has to change.โ
on Skyy Clarkโs status (hamstring injury, sustained last Saturday at Iowa)
โThe guy has a hammy like that, you have to take it and see how he is doing when you get home. I probably wonโt know until Thursday if he has any type of chance. You have to be careful too with a guy with a hamstring. We should be able to be a better defensive team. I know heโs our best defender, and I think Brandon Williams might be our second-best defender, and he got sick.โ
on Xavier Booker playing one minute against Wisconsin
โGot to defend and rebound or I just canโt play you, anybody โ anybody, and in defense of him, heโs not the only one. Right now, Iโm searching. He knows it. He knows it.โ
UCLA sophomore Trent Perry
on his injury diving for the ball in the first half
โI dove for the ball. My chin hit the floor. I didnโt know it was bleeding at the time. It was a little bit. I didnโt know the severity until I got to the locker room.โ
on what was going on offensively in the first half
โWe werenโt really worried about the offense. Cronin always tells us to worry about the defensive end, whether we are making shots or not. We just have to keep being aggressive, next man up. Who knows how long Skyy is out for? Next man up. We have a lot of great guys on this team. We just have to worry about defense.โ
on the teamโs defense
โThey were just hitting shots. We have to better on the rotations, we just have to do better talking. We knew the game plan coming in, we just didnโt execute right away. Itโs hard being down 20 in the first half on a good team like Wisconsin. Especially when they are 10-1 at home, and itโs very hard to go down and dig yourselves out of the hole.โ
on what needs to happen for the team to get better defensively
โWe just need to dig deep within ourselves. Cronin has been telling us since day one what to do. You know, sometimes itโs just not clicking for all of us as a collective unit. We just have to take this as a learning lesson. It was a really good road trip, Iowa and Wisconsin, just a little test for a lot of other guys. We are just going to come back, watch film, and see what happens next.โ
on the teamโs mood
โWe are good. We know itโs a long season. We have a lot of other games to play. We have at least two more months to play. Itโs like Coach Cronin said, itโs like the NBA and Big Ten, you win some, you lose some, but at the end of the day, how are you going to fight back?โ
UCLA junior Eric Dailey Jr.ย
on trying to fix the defense
โObviously, we emphasize defense at this school. Coach has been about defense the whole time. We just have to find a way to execute. When you score that many points on the road, we definitely should win the game. The defense is not there then thatโs just a loss. My teammates know that we have to be better on that side of the ball, offense is doing pretty good. Defensively, thatโs our focus, we have to start there.โ
on what he thinks needs to be better defensively
โThe film says it all. Definitely just talking, communicating. Knowing that whoever is on the ball, the guy behind you has your back. I think people are just overthinking too much, not knowing that itโs a team defensive thing that we are trying to work on. We just have to be a better collective group, knowing our assignments better.โ
on the teamโs slow start
โWhen you spot a team 20 points, itโs very hard, especially when you are in their home court. They are a really good team. You canโt do that on the road, you canโt do that anywhere in basketball, just give a team 20 points. We have to be better. Going into these next games, I donโt think that will happen again.โ
on his offensive game
โI think my defensive intensity picked up the team and it got me some shots. Just getting to certain spots, itโs really not the focus, defense is where itโs at. I can score 20 or 30, and then if weโre not playing defense, it wonโt matter.โ
on how hard it is to play without Skyy Clark
โWeโve played without a lot of guys. Weโve played without me, without Tyler, weโve played without most of the upperclassmen. Itโs no excuse, definitely would love to have Skyy out there being the anchor, heโs one of our leaders on defense as well. Thatโs no excuse, though.โ
ย
Wisconsin 80, UCLA 72
Madison, Wis. (Kohl Center)
January 6, 2026
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
opening statement
โObviously, our offensive struggles to start the game, again, put us in an insurmountable hole. Defensively, our offensive struggles were so bad that it had our heads messed up on the other end, and we werenโt able to keep Boyd out of the lane. So, he shot 10 free throws, and he had five easy assists, some of those were for threes, which got us in foul trouble. Got us way down. Then Trent gets hurt, Eric Freeny has to play 23 minutes tonight. Brandon Williams comes up with a stomach flu. I really wanted to see him, he asked out after a minute and a half into the game. He was our best player in practice yesterday and I wanted to see our lineup with him at full strength. It was a patchwork crew that we were fighting back with.
ย
โOur scouting report, we did a bad job on Boyd, especially in the first half. We talked about their transition, how you have to get back, build a wall, and get matched up โ the opposite of Iowa, who walks it up. When you give away 15-20 points, because we just didnโt get back and get matched up, and just simple stuff, you canโt win. Itโs literally like saying Wisconsin is up 20, now let's tip it off and try to beat them. Youโre just giving those points away. You see what happens when we get back and get matched up, play solid defense, you get stops. In the second half, they are 10-for-27, and really, their only baskets, most of them, we didnโt stop the ball again in transition.
ย
โWe still have not learned how to give ourselves a chance in a big game like this on the road. Arizona, we guarded them, we could have easily won that game, but that game was played in LA. Gonzaga, we played the game in the Bay Area, obviously Iowa and here defensively, we gave ourselves no chance. When you go to teach a team how to win, 72 [points] should be enough. When you have to go on the road and score 82, in the Big Ten, this is the Big Ten, this isnโt the Pac-12. How many times will you have to go on the road and score 81 in another team's gym? If we had made more threes, we would have won, we lost by eight, and we were 1-for-17. There are a lot of good things, but not having Skyy didnโt help.โ
on the Bruins using a few rotating lineups
โI have to watch the film. I have to get Eric going. Heโs 9-for-12 inside the line and 0-for-5 outside. He hasnโt made a three since we played Oregon, but three of his threes went in and out tonight. He cares so much. People are just letting him shoot right now. I would tell you that to shoot 46 percent overall on the road, you should have a chance to win. Defensively, itโs hard to win when you give up 80, and 45 in the first half. We have to get better at our scouting report. We got some guys who have to learn how to stay in front of the ball. Basic things, basic things. We have some guys who need to learn how to stay in front of the basketball. We just have to keep working on them. If you canโt keep the ball, like the first half we didnโt contain the ball, so it was layup or kick-out three. They had us on the run because we kept getting beat off the dribble, same thing at Iowa. That is the number one thing, that has to change.โ
on Skyy Clarkโs status (hamstring injury, sustained last Saturday at Iowa)
โThe guy has a hammy like that, you have to take it and see how he is doing when you get home. I probably wonโt know until Thursday if he has any type of chance. You have to be careful too with a guy with a hamstring. We should be able to be a better defensive team. I know heโs our best defender, and I think Brandon Williams might be our second-best defender, and he got sick.โ
on Xavier Booker playing one minute against Wisconsin
โGot to defend and rebound or I just canโt play you, anybody โ anybody, and in defense of him, heโs not the only one. Right now, Iโm searching. He knows it. He knows it.โ
UCLA sophomore Trent Perry
on his injury diving for the ball in the first half
โI dove for the ball. My chin hit the floor. I didnโt know it was bleeding at the time. It was a little bit. I didnโt know the severity until I got to the locker room.โ
on what was going on offensively in the first half
โWe werenโt really worried about the offense. Cronin always tells us to worry about the defensive end, whether we are making shots or not. We just have to keep being aggressive, next man up. Who knows how long Skyy is out for? Next man up. We have a lot of great guys on this team. We just have to worry about defense.โ
on the teamโs defense
โThey were just hitting shots. We have to better on the rotations, we just have to do better talking. We knew the game plan coming in, we just didnโt execute right away. Itโs hard being down 20 in the first half on a good team like Wisconsin. Especially when they are 10-1 at home, and itโs very hard to go down and dig yourselves out of the hole.โ
on what needs to happen for the team to get better defensively
โWe just need to dig deep within ourselves. Cronin has been telling us since day one what to do. You know, sometimes itโs just not clicking for all of us as a collective unit. We just have to take this as a learning lesson. It was a really good road trip, Iowa and Wisconsin, just a little test for a lot of other guys. We are just going to come back, watch film, and see what happens next.โ
on the teamโs mood
โWe are good. We know itโs a long season. We have a lot of other games to play. We have at least two more months to play. Itโs like Coach Cronin said, itโs like the NBA and Big Ten, you win some, you lose some, but at the end of the day, how are you going to fight back?โ
UCLA junior Eric Dailey Jr.ย
on trying to fix the defense
โObviously, we emphasize defense at this school. Coach has been about defense the whole time. We just have to find a way to execute. When you score that many points on the road, we definitely should win the game. The defense is not there then thatโs just a loss. My teammates know that we have to be better on that side of the ball, offense is doing pretty good. Defensively, thatโs our focus, we have to start there.โ
on what he thinks needs to be better defensively
โThe film says it all. Definitely just talking, communicating. Knowing that whoever is on the ball, the guy behind you has your back. I think people are just overthinking too much, not knowing that itโs a team defensive thing that we are trying to work on. We just have to be a better collective group, knowing our assignments better.โ
on the teamโs slow start
โWhen you spot a team 20 points, itโs very hard, especially when you are in their home court. They are a really good team. You canโt do that on the road, you canโt do that anywhere in basketball, just give a team 20 points. We have to be better. Going into these next games, I donโt think that will happen again.โ
on his offensive game
โI think my defensive intensity picked up the team and it got me some shots. Just getting to certain spots, itโs really not the focus, defense is where itโs at. I can score 20 or 30, and then if weโre not playing defense, it wonโt matter.โ
on how hard it is to play without Skyy Clark
โWeโve played without a lot of guys. Weโve played without me, without Tyler, weโve played without most of the upperclassmen. Itโs no excuse, definitely would love to have Skyy out there being the anchor, heโs one of our leaders on defense as well. Thatโs no excuse, though.โ
ย