The UCLA Bruins were able to earn a road win against the Washington Huskies. However, along the way, it appeared head coach Mick Cronin also saw his Bruins team suffer a loss when forward Tyler Bilodeau went down with an injury.

Behind Aday Mara’s breakout performance and Sebastian Mack’s clutch leadership, Mick Cronin’s strategic decisions guided UCLA to a thrilling 85-83 victory over No. 18 Wisconsin.

UCLA men's basketball coach Mick Cronin went on a rant about his team's Big Ten travel schedule after being asked about teams making the trip west

UCLA basketball head coach Mick Cronin explained why his team is having difficulty in the new Big 10 conference.

Wisconsin basketball (15-4, 5-3 Big Ten) fell 85-83 to the UCLA Bruins (13-6, 4-4 Big Ten) on Tuesday night in Westwood, California. The result snapped Wisconsin’s seven-game win streak dating back to Dec. 14. For Mick Cronin’s Bruins, this win was their third against an AP top-25 opponent this season.

The Bruins’ head coach, who has employed the bigs in certain situations, said they ‘made me look smart’ after both rose to the occasion in Tuesday’s victory

All told, that’s a sound philosophy from Cronin, even if the Bruins have struggled at times over the course of the 2024-25 campaign. Still, they seem to be on the upswing, as they rebounded from four consecutive losses to win back-to-back games against Iowa and Wisconsin.

One storyline to follow with UCLA is the emergence of 7-foot-3 Spaniard Aday Mara. The behemoth is coming off his two best games in a Bruins uniform, collecting 22 points without missing a shot against Wisconsin and then playing a career-high 30 minutes against Washington and notching 12 points, seven rebounds, and five blocks.

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin praised the Wisconsin basketball program following the Bruins’ 85-83 win over the Badgers on Tuesday.

Johnson, who leads the Bruins in six categories, transferred to Westwood following three seasons with the Trojans.

A busy week in the Big Ten created significant volatility in the conference standings. However, those results did lead to significant movement at the bottom of the rankings. Minnesota (2-0), USC (1-0) and Ohio State (1-0) each made big jumps,

Under the leadership of Dusty May, it looked like Michigan was poised to become the next juggernaut in the Big Ten, and while that still might be the case, the Wolverines definitely hit some stumbling blocks with recent road losses to Minnesota and Purdue.