‘If that wouldn’t have happened, we might have had a lead at half’ – UCLA’s Mick Cronin gets real about loss to the Tennessee Vols

The Tennessee Vols cruised past the UCLA Bruins on Saturday night in Lexington, winning 67-58 to advance to the Sweet 16.

Tennessee essentially took control near the end of the first half after guard Jordan Gainey hit a three-pointer to give the Vols a 27-25 lead with just under three minutes to play in the half.

The Volunteers never relinquished the lead from that point in the game.

Part of the reason that Tennessee was able to take control of the game is because a couple of key UCLA players got in foul trouble early.

Bruins head coach Mick Cronin told reporters after the game that he thinks UCLA might have had a lead at halftime if not for the early foul trouble.

“They only scored 67, it’s not like we gave up 97, they scored 67,” said Cronin. “Not going to win many games when you get 58. Skyy (Clark) not being able to play (due to foul trouble) and Eric (Dailey) really threw us off for a long period. It messed the game up. Because we had a chance to — if that wouldn’t have happened, we might have had a lead at half. It could have just been a whole different game.”

“But, again, they got an hell of a team,” added Cronin. “You’re not going to win you score 58 points.”

But at the same time, he’s probably not wrong that the early foul trouble, which took UCLA out of their game plan, is a big reason that the game went the way it did.

Of course, that’s part of what makes Tennessee a great team under Rick Barnes. The Vols’ ability to prevent teams from executing their game plan by disrupting their opponent’s rhythm is why UT is a legitimate threat to reach the Final Four. Cronin’s experience on Saturday night is something that almost every team that’s played Tennessee this season has experienced. Tennessee’s ability to muck up games is why the Vols are always a threat to win — even if they’re not putting up a significant amount of points on a given night.