After starting the month of January on a four-game losing streak in Big Ten play, the UCLA Bruins (15-6, 6-4) have responded better than any team in the nation

The UCLA Bruins are in their first season in the Big Ten Conference. With that expansion of the conference, coaches like Mick Cronin are dealing with some new challenges, including handling the travel and a difficult conference schedule.

UCLA has answered a four-game losing streak and a stretch of five losses in six games with a four-game win streak. Following the latest one on Monday in an 82-76 victory over USC, Mick Cronin gave credit to the Bruins for figuring it out.

UCLA basketball head coach Mick Cronin explained why his team is having difficulty in the new Big 10 conference.

Less than a month after their coach called them soft and delusional, the Bruins have turned things around by drawing a line between cordial relationships off the court and competitive connections

See which teams currently sit on the bubble of the 2025 NCAA Tournament, as conference play continues across college basketball.

The Bruins’ winning streak is at four games with reason for additional optimism after a hard-fought 82-76 victory at the Galen Center, while Trojans coach Eric Musselman’s quickly assembled roster

This story was updated to add new information. A busy week in the Big Ten created significant volatility in the conference standings. Several top teams saw their records blemished, including Purdue (1-1 with a loss to Ohio State ),

That means it is time to keep closer tabs on the goings-on in men’s Big Ten hoops action. This Bracketology series will serve to give an approximate idea of where the conference’s best teams may be seeded in the big dance, but it will also check in on top teams’ recent form as well as their upcoming schedules.

Under the leadership of Dusty May, it looked like Michigan was poised to become the next juggernaut in the Big Ten, and while that still might be the case, the Wolverines definitely hit some stumbling blocks with recent road losses to Minnesota and Purdue.

A lot was revealed about the Bruins on Jan. 7. While it was then-No. 24 Michigan who bulldozed then-No. 22 UCLA by 19 points – handing the Bruins their second consecutive conference defeat – Wolverine center Vladislav Goldin simultaneously positioned a spotlight on the Bruins’ greatest weakness: their height.

UCLA men's basketball coach Mick Cronin offers his critique of the pressure the exhausting Big Ten schedule has put on the Bruins.