University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Postgame Quotes - UCLA 89, USC 68
POSTGAME QUOTES
UCLA 89, USC 68
Los Angeles, Calif. (Galen Center)
March 7, 2026
Mick Cronin, The Michael Price Family UCLA Menโs Head Basketball Coach
on the starting lineup used for the past five games
โI thought our bench was the big key today. To answer your question, itโs easier sometimes to get Tyler [Bilodeau] shots at the five in some games, depending on how theyโre defending him. It also gives Eric Dailey a lot of mismatches. You get a taller guy on him, and his one-on-one ability can take over. Itโs harder for him to get to work off the dribble on a smaller guy. Thatโs just my thought with it. Also, just trying to get our best five players on the court, not that itโs rocket science. Trent [Perry] is clearly one of our best five players with Skyy [Clark] coming back. And Book [Xavier Booker] had a couple of big blocks today โ heโs doing a good job in his role.โ
on Tyler Bilodeauโs 16-point first half performance
โSomebodyโs got to score, man. Weโve got guys that can score, so I thought in the second half, just let Eric [Dailey Jr.] go. Tyler can shoot, man. Tylerโs going to get the chance to play in the NBA. Heโs one of the best shooters in the country when he gets his feet set. Heโs a tremendous shooter, and he works unbelievably hard at it.โ
on Donovan Dentโs performance
โHe took over in the second half. The whole second half he took over. We found something that was working off the hot pick and roll, the guys did a good job executing. If he can get in the lane, heโs as good as there is in college basketball. If he can get in there. Some shot making by Tyler allowed us to spread them out, and Donovan went to work.โ
on the teamโs offense
โOur offense, other than a couple of games, has been great all year. College basketball is way up in points per possession in the last five years, and way up this year. But itโs the best team Iโve ever coached in 23 years as a head coach as far as most points per possession. So, defense is all I worry about with this team.โ
on if there is more buy-in from his players at the end of the season
โI think that we definitely did against Nebraska, and we definitely did tonight. But Iโve been around these guy for five months, so I know that the fight is not over with that. You can go right back to where we were, which was a bad defensive team and a good offensive team, where we had to score 80-something to win. And youโre not going anywhere like that, nobody is. I donโt have to worry about it with Skyy, Eric Freeney, Brandon Williams, or Steven Jamerson. Some of our scores, thatโs just who theyโve been. Iโve had the opposite in my career; teams who couldnโt score. My first team here, we lost here on a buzzer shot, I think it was 52-51, for the Pac-12 title to share it with Oregon. We couldnโt score. Jaime [Jaquez Jr.] was a freshman. We almost won the Pac-12. And a lot of my teams at Cincinnati. So when you finally have a team that can score, what if we really can play defense?โ
on his favorite aspect of this yearโs UCLA team
โWe have great guys. We have great guys. I have to make myself yell at some of these guys because theyโre such good guys, and I did that by design. You know, one thing about the portal, you can decide who you want to keep and offer them money to come back, you can decide who you go after. I want guys that are good guys. I donโt want to be fighting with guys, I donโt have the energy for it. Won enough games, itโs not worth it.โ
on his prior revenue share comments
โA few coaches were asking me what I meant. And then a few people owe me dinner because I predicted that our president was going to get involved. So I got some other coaches that owe me dinner, and my athletic director.โ
on getting a win on the road
โWinning away from home for sure is big. And not just winning, I thought our defensive effort was key. They didnโt get to 70. It was a high possession game, so 68 is not a lot.โ
on winning the rebounding battle
โThereโs a first for everything! We were plus-10 or 11 on the glass. Itโs nice. Yeah, itโs effort related. Rebounding is about positioning, and it takes effort to get into position. And then toughness to get the ball. Positioning could be offensive or defensive on the block out, and then the effort to get the ball. Rebounding is all heart, desire, effort, competitive spirit.โ
on the teamโs potential ceiling if the defensive effort persists
โWe can keep winning games, because we can score. A lot of good teams are going to Chicago next week, guys.โ
UCLA senior Donovan Dent
on what goes into his assist to turnover ratio
โReally, just coach trusting the ball in my hands, my teammates being open, and me making the right read. Itโs very smooth to get assists when I have people shooting 40 percent from the three. It just makes my life easier.โ
on if heโs more comfortable with the offense going into the end of the season
โAbsolutely, I think I just got more and more comfortable as the season went on, and now I just feel good with the ball in my hand and making the right read every time.โ
on the importance of his scoring and leadership going into the postseason
โThe team trusts me with every read I make, shot or pass, and I love that it makes it easy for meโ
on if thereโs more of a defensive buy in lately
โAbsolutely. I think thatโs two games in a row that weโve held good scoring offenses to low scores, so I think weโre switching our mindset a little bit. Offensively, weโre going to score because we have so many weapons, but we really switched on the defensive mindset.โ
UCLA redshirt freshman Eric Freeny
on what has clicked for him in his last few games
โI say just playing hard, practice every single day. Especially right now, just get ready for March Madness. The seasonโs barely getting started. Weโve got to keep on going, weโve got to keep on winning.โ
on carrying the teamโs momentum into the Big Ten Tournament
โJust keep on winning, thatโs how we carry it. Itโs pretty simple I feel like. Winning, feeling good, next day practice feeling good. That how weโve got to keep it going.โ
on the 13-1 scoring run to pull away from USC in the first half
โNothing but hustling. Thatโs about it. Just keep on doing it. Keep on getting rebounds, playing harder.โ
on the teamโs attitude when things are going right
โItโs just a feeling you canโt really explain. Thatโs why I love it. I love the sport, I love basketball. When you get that feeling, you just have to carry on the momentum and just keep on winning.โ
UCLA senior Tyler Bilodeau
on the teamโs growth from earlier in the season
โIt shows a lot of character. You know, itโs a game of runs. We knew they were going to have their runs, we were going to have ours, but just staying together there, keep rebounding, keep playing our defense, and it showed.โ
on his 16-point first half performance
โI mean yeah, Iโm trying to work hard offensively, especially if shots arenโt falling, stuff like that. But it could be anyone, any time. The biggest part is defensively staying together, and we know weโre going to go on a run.โ
on the teamโs mindset going into next weekโs Big Ten tournament
โI mean, weโre excited. This is what college basketballโs all about. Next week will be fun, weโre excited.โ
on the confidence from playing well on the road
โItโs been really good. Weโve struggled a little bit on the road earlier, so to get this win on the road was big for us. It gives us a lot of confidence, and weโve just got to keep working.โ
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