UCLA plays Northwestern Saturday during a stretch with five out of six Big Ten games at Pauley Pavilion.
UCLA head coach Mick Cronin reacts on the sideline during the first half of their Big Ten game against Purdue on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026, at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins played at Washington, then had a home matchup with Oregon in early December.
They began the New Year on a trip to Iowa and Wisconsin, returned briefly to welcome Maryland, before venturing to Penn State and Ohio State. To top it off, UCLA hosted No. 4 Purdue on two days’ rest when the Boilermakers were settled in Los Angeles after playing USC five days prior. His gripes are reasonable given UCLA was the only Big Ten team to play five of its first seven conference games on the road — a stretch in which the Bruins went 4-3, with each of their losses coming away from Westwood. In that case, Cronin must appreciate UCLA’s upcoming schedule. The Bruins play Northwestern on Saturday as part of a six-game stretch with five at Pauley Pavilion and one directly north against the Ducks. “I didn’t even know that,” Cronin said at Friday’s practice. “When are we leaving for Oregon? When do we play them? I don’t know. So I guess we play Oregon, and we have a bunch of home games after that. See how locked in I am?”UCLA’s focus, rather, is on Northwestern. After their best win of the season, and a high-pressure finish, the Bruins reminded themselves to reset, to get back to work and keep improving, as senior Tyler Bilodeau put it. They held shortened practices on Wednesday and Thursday to help the starters recover as each played over 34 minutes on Tuesday. Without senior Skyy Clark, who is “highly questionable” for Saturday, Cronin shortened his rotation and trusted his starters’ conditioning. He felt UCLA’s team defense improved. He praised center Xavier Booker for following the scouting report and forcing Purdue guard Braden Smith to his left hand. He was especially pleased with the Bruins’ effort on one of the final possessions Tuesday, when Booker made Smith drive to his weak side, guard Trent Perry rotated, and forward Eric Dailey Jr. slid down, deflecting Smith’s pass. Playing a combined 180 of 200 minutes, the starters fought for a crucial win over Purdue and protected UCLA’s home court. The Bruins have ensured that advantage, going 26-2 at home over the past season-and-a-half. “You better win at home,” Cronin said. “Especially in really good conferences, it’s tough to win on the road.” Wins and losses in the Big Ten might be as simple as who’s sleeping in their bed and who’s in a hotel. Michigan State and Michigan are the only programs disproving that, as each is 11-3 in conference road games going back to last season. Since entering the Big Ten, UCLA is 7-8 away from Pauley Pavilion. Similar to this season, the Bruins lost four straight while playing four of six on the road to start conference play in 2024-25. To be fair, there’s a stark difference in going from Los Angeles to Midwest or East Coast schools, rather than those programs visiting Los Angeles in the winter. It’s basically a reprieve. “When we took off from Chicago on Monday, it was -11 , and when we landed at LAX, I think it was 73,” Northwestern head coach Chris Collins said Wednesday after a win over USC. “I was okay with it.” Booker transferred to UCLA after two seasons at Michigan State, and has seen both sides of the travel.Those comments add to Cronin’s outrage, who said Friday he planned on calling Collins to check if the sun was making him happy. Cronin didn’t leave Cincinnati to play the majority of his away games in the midwest. He didn’t move UCLA to the Big Ten. But that’s the reality, and it’s not changing anytime soon. The Bruins don’t leave the Pacific time zone for the next six games. They can forget about that travel conundrum for now. But to accomplish anything in this new-age, coast-to-coast conference, UCLA has to learn to win regardless of whether it’s dodging snowstorms or playing in the January sun.Here are 3 great sandwich shops in the San Fernando ValleySheriff’s detectives shoot, kill robbery suspect at Fallbrook Center mall in West HillsThese 4 Los Angeles County restaurants landed on Yelp’s Top 100 list for 2026 After housing nearly 300 people, Los Angeles officials to expand San Fernando Valley’s RV-to-Home project citywideImmigration officials allow suspect in $100 million Southern California jewelry heist to self deport, avoiding trial
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