LOS ANGELES — Mick Cronin said he knew he was actually in the Big Ten when, at the conference’s media day back in October, he ran into Michigan State coach Tom Izzo. Izzo is the longest-tenured head coach in the Big Ten. He took over for the Spartans when he was 40 years old. He’s 70 now and in his 30th season at the helm.
He won an NCAA Championship in 2000. He coached Zach Randolph. He coached Draymond Green. He has stuck around through the NIL and transfer portal era, as other coaches have left the game behind.
When that person was in his face, Cronin took note.
On Tuesday, there will be no meet and greet when UCLA (16-6 overall, 7-4 Big Ten) hosts No. 9 Michigan State (18-3, 9-1) in Pauley Pavilion at 7 p.m. Both programs are fighting for high seeds in the NCAA Tournament. First-round byes in the Big Ten Tournament are on the line. Michigan State leads the Big Ten at 9-1, coming off its first conference loss, to USC
The Bruins can position themselves well during this homestand that consists of Michigan State, and a game against Penn State (13-9, 3-8) on Saturday at 1 p.m.
Izzo is famous for making the most of his roster. He took a No. 7 seed Michigan State team to the Sweet 16 in 2023. In fact, the last time the Spartans missed the NCAA Tournament was 1997.
Record-wise, this is their best team in five seasons. They’re led by talented scoring guards in sophomore Jaden Akins (13.5 points per game) and freshman Jase Richardson (9.6 ppg). The roster looks a little different from past physical Michigan State teams. Instead, they’ve been relying on their depth as 10 players average 15-plus minutes and Akins paces the team with just 26.
Izzo pushes the buttons as well as anyone. But Cronin and the Bruins have navigated a conference filled with qualified coaches all season. They earned wins against Wisconsin’s Greg Gard (10 seasons), Iowa’s Fran McCaffery (12 seasons) and Oregon’s Dana Altman (15 seasons).
The Bruins have fallen to some of the conference’s newer coaches including Michigan’s Dusty May (debut season) and Maryland’s Kevin Willard (third season).
The Big Ten is ever-changing.
“In this league, there’s so many good teams,” Cronin said on Jan. 23. “We were just meeting as a staff, you know, growing up, you thought of the Big Ten as a banging up, smashing up, walking up league. Go ahead and look at how many Big Ten teams are averaging 75 or 80. … So you got, we got to be able to score.”
The Spartans are among eight teams in the Big Ten averaging more than 80 points per game.
Over the Bruins’ recent five-game winning streak, they’ve shown an ability to adapt, too, scoring 78 or more points in four of those five wins. They’ve also accrued a 5-1 record in wins decided by five or fewer points this season, which could be the case again Tuesday as UCLA is favored by 2.5 points against Michigan State.
Cronin has credited UCLA’s timely free-throw shooting for its late-game success. Many of those opportunities have fallen into the hands of guards Skyy Clark and Sebastian Mack. Each hit free throws in the final minutes of tight wins against Gonzaga on Dec. 28, Wisconsin on Jan. 21 and against USC on Jan. 27.
Composure is part of the package UCLA’s gotten with Clark this season as the transfer from Louisville is valuable in ways that transcend the stat sheet. He controls the pace, understands who has the hot hand and gets them the ball; and he defends the opponent’s best guard on a nightly basis.
“Skyy does a great job,” Cronin said on Thursday after Clark held Oregon’s Jackson Shelstad scoreless.
His ability to limit Akins on Tuesday will prove crucial.