72-52 victory<\/a> over the No. 9 Cornhuskers. \u201cI\u2019m a big believer in it; it\u2019s why I signed him. Toughness.\u201d<\/p>\nThe one game Freeny barely played in during this recent stretch?<\/p>\n
Penn State Nittany Lions guard Melih Tunca dribbles the ball around the outside of UCLA Bruins guard Eric Freeny during the second half at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O\u2019Haren-Imagn Images Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
UCLA absorbed a deflating road loss to Minnesota, suffering from its usual deficiencies while logging only 10 deflections \u2014 an all-time low for a Cronin team.<\/p>\n
While enduring what he described as \u201cthe worst film session I\u2019ve ever watched with a team,\u201d Cronin said he apologized to Freeny for not playing him more than a 20-second stint against the Golden Gophers.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy excuse was, we were scoring and we were winning, and the game was slow and nobody was tired and they were playing zone,\u201d Cronin said, \u201cbut our defense was so bad in spite of our shotmaking, I should have got some guys out and put them \u2014 and definitely Eric Freeny should have got in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freeny said he appreciated his coach\u2019s mea culpa.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s doing what\u2019s best for me, just trying to push me to my max,\u201d said Freeny, who has averaged 15.6 minutes during his team\u2019s last three wins, far above his season average of 9.9 minutes. \u201cI just got to keep on going. Keep on pushing every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Freeny\u2019s uptick in playing time has coincided with some of his team\u2019s best basketball of the season. It also dovetailed with Cronin\u2019s recent message during what he called \u201ca heart-to-heart\u201d conversation with his players about what\u2019s needed to become a great team.<\/p>\n
\u201cI said, \u2018Look, guys, here\u2019s a team [in Nebraska] \u2014 their record is what it is because of their attitude and their effort and their commitment to doing hard things,\u201d Cronin said. \u201cI am so impressed with them. Tonight we were great; if we would just have their attitude, we would have their record \u2014 that\u2019s my opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin reacts during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Nebraska, Tuesday, March 3, 2026, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo\/William Liang) AP<\/p>\n
Cronin then immediately referenced Freeny\u2019s six deflections and ability to direct loose balls to teammates, leading to layups. Freeny also played lockdown defense on Nebraska guard Pryce Sandfort, who managed only nine points three days after scorching USC for 32.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust a game-changer,\u201d UCLA guard Trent Perry said of Freeny\u2019s defense and offensive rebounding from the guard spot.<\/p>\n
Even more inspiring might have been Freeny\u2019s non-reaction to the ball being flung off his face by USC\u2019s Chad Baker-Mazara last week while the Trojans guard was falling out of bounds.<\/p>\n
\u201cVery tough to get hit in the face with the ball and not flinch, like, come on, that\u2019s a tough guy,\u201d Bruins forward Eric Dailey Jr. said. \u201cAnd he brings that every day in practice, like what we see, this what he does every day. He works hard. He\u2019s in the gym early, and all that, all the work that he\u2019s done in the dark is coming to light.\u201d<\/p>\n
Said Freeny: \u201cGot hit with the ball, just got to keep playing. It\u2019s part of the sport. That\u2019s part of what happens. So just got to forget about it and win the ballgame.\u201d<\/p>\n
What\u2019s made UCLA\u2019s lack of defense, rebounding and toughness all the more startling this season is that they are the traits that usually define Cronin\u2019s teams.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why being able to turn to a player who embodies them like Freeny is essential.<\/p>\n
\u201cSee, in coaching, you can\u2019t talk about stuff and not be about it,\u201d Cronin said. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to be about it \u2013 you play defense or you come out. If you\u2019re not about it, nobody\u2019s going to believe you.\u201d<\/p>\n
UCLA Bruins guard Trent Perry is congratulated by guard Eric Freeny after scoring a basket during the second half against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Bryce Jordan Center. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O\u2019Haren-Imagn Images Matthew O’Haren-Imagn Images<\/p>\n
Freeny is producing a growing legion of believers, with his coach leading the way. Referencing one of his measures of toughness, Cronin posed a hypothetical scenario: If a ball was dropped from the ceiling with both teams gathered in the middle of the court, who would come away with it?<\/p>\n
\u201cOn our team, it\u2019s Eric Freeny \u2013 that\u2019s who I\u2019m betting on,\u201d Cronin said. \u201cYou gotta have some guys like that.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"All season, after almost every loss, UCLA basketball coach Mick Cronin has repeated the same lament about his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":639603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3724],"tags":[7,66,4262],"class_list":{"0":"post-639602","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-basketball","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-ucla-bruins"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116172997591653400","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=639602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/639602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/639603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=639602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=639602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=639602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}