Mick Cronin’s team had lost five of its last six regular-season games, its offense failing to keep pace with a sturdy defense. The coach vowed to find other players who could get the job done if his current ones continued to falter.
Sound familiar?
The year was 2010. Cronin was coaching at Cincinnati. It was the last time he missed the NCAA tournament.
A repeat scenario could play out this week unless Cronin’s fifth-seeded UCLA Bruins (15-16) get on a roll and win the final Pac-12 Conference tournament at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the resulting automatic bid providing their only possible path to the NCAA tournament.