INDIANAPOLIS – Jaime Jaquez Jr. remembers the moment Mick Cronin introduced himself at UCLA, the new coach promising to restore the shine to the storied men’s basketball program by instilling a mental and physical toughness the team had never experienced.
It came in handy Sunday night.
After watching second-seeded Alabama’s Alex Reese take advantage of the Bruins’ soft defense to drain a buzzer-beating 3-pointer and force overtime, Jaquez and the rest of his boys in blue were completely unfazed by the moment.
Instead, they scored the first five points of the extra period, then cruised from there to an 88-78 victory that gave the No. 11 seed Bruins their first trip to the Elite Eight since 2008 – and Cronin the first such appearance of his 18-year coaching career.
“When he came to UCLA,” Jaquez said, “he basically preached the entire time, no matter what was going to happen, we were going to be a tough team, and we were going to be a defensive team. That was his whole attitude. No matter what happens, we’re going to be the toughest team to go out and play.”