Winning — or losing — would have its benefits for | College News

INDIANAPOLIS — Mick Cronin is aware of what it’s wish to lose by profitable a convention match that performs its championship sport on Selection Sunday.

It occurred his final two seasons at Cincinnati.

“We played the last game and we found out where we were going for the NCAA tournament while we were cutting down nets or sitting in the locker room eating a cold pizza,” Cronin mentioned in October. “Then you’ve got to fly home, then you’ve got to fly back to wherever you’re being sent. It’s not ideal, I can tell you that.”

In 2018, Cronin’s Bearcats performed 5 days after profitable the American Athletic Conference match title. They reached the second spherical of the NCAA match, losing to Nevada.

The subsequent 12 months it was the identical fast turnaround, and the Bearcats misplaced to Iowa within the first spherical of the NCAA match.

As Cronin’s UCLA Bruins put together to open the Big Ten match in a quarterfinal sport Friday afternoon at Gainbridge Fieldhouse, they need to steadiness the need for success with the belief that this isn’t the match that basically issues.

“At UCLA, we win the conference tournament and people are going to be excited for about 45 minutes,” Cronin mentioned with a giggle. “And that’s anywhere. We’re in an era where the NCAA tournament has become everything, and I’m not saying it’s all good. I don’t care who wins the conference tournament — even if we do. It’s going to be hard as hell to do, but I hope we don’t run out of gas if we do it because the real tournament starts about four or five days after.”

Earlier this week, Cronin mentioned he was considering a new journey sport plan, even calling Oregon coach Dana Altman to get his enter. Should the Bruins attain the championship sport Sunday, Cronin mentioned it is likely to be more helpful to remain in Indianapolis and “just do our laundry” than to fly back to Los Angeles with the possibility his crew would possibly need to board one other flight two days later for its first NCAA match sport.

Of course, this dilemma is contingent on one vital development.

“You’ve got to try to get to Sunday first,” Cronin mentioned.

Winner of 11 of its final 14 video games, fourth-seeded UCLA (22-9) will open the match in opposition to fifth-seeded Wisconsin (23-8), Twelfth-seeded Minnesota (15-16) or Thirteenth-seeded Northwestern (16-15).

A fast exit might have some benefits. UCLA reached the Final Four in 2021 after losing a Pac-12 match quarterfinal to Oregon, exhibiting the shortage of correlation between success in a single match and the opposite.

There’s additionally an elevated damage risk the deeper the Bruins go within the convention match. Two years in the past middle Adem Bona suffered a shoulder damage in a Pac-12 match semifinal that restricted his availability within the NCAA match.

Then there’s the flip aspect. A Big Ten match title might give the Bruins more than a fast burst of dopamine and a banner to put up inside the apply facility.

Currently projected as a No. 6 seed within the NCAA match by Bracketmatrix.com, which aggregates bracket projections, UCLA most likely might rise as high as a No. 4 seed. That threshold comes with a main benefit — as a so-called protected seed, the Bruins would be positioned in a close geographic area, most likely both in Seattle or Denver, that means decreased journey and more fan help.

Cronin mentioned he was a lot more involved about location than seeding provided that his solely crew to succeed in the Final Four began the NCAA match as a No. 11 seed pressured to play a First Four sport.

Even if the Bruins don’t get hold of a protected seed, Cronin mentioned, he hoped the NCAA match choice committee would make allowances for the crew’s brutal journey schedule. This can be UCLA’s third journey to Indiana within the final 5 weeks, prompting Cronin to joke that he would need to pay taxes within the Hoosier state.

“We’re on the quarter system, OK?” Cronin mentioned. “We’ve got finals coming, the last week of school and you know where we’ve been in January and February, so for me, I would hope that there’s some consideration for the travel piece.”

If nothing else, touring midway throughout the nation to play in a win-or-go-home match will put together the Bruins for what they’ll anticipate a week from now.

“You’re fighting for a title, for a Big Ten championship, so it means something,” senior guard Lazar Stefanovic mentioned. “Every game you go into, you go into to win. So that’s how we’re preparing, nothing else changes. We’re trying to win.”