Mick Cronin explains why UCLA did not foul at end of regulation

UCLA escaped against Alabama on Sunday in the NCAA Tournament with an 88-78 win in overtime and overcame a “March Madness” shot.

UCLA was leading 65-62 with under five seconds left and Alabama had the ball. The Bruins did not foul and allowed the Crimson Tide to attempt a three-pointer. Naturally, Alex Reese made the 3-pointer at the buzzer to tie the game and send it to overtime.

So why didn’t UCLA foul instead of giving Alabama a chance to make the 3-pointer to tie the game? Head coach Mick Cronin explained after the game. He said that Alabama’s coach knew he wanted to foul, so they wanted to be careful about not fouling while someone was shooting. The result was allowing Alabama the shot because the Tide escaped a double team.

"Absolutely. I'm a foul guy… Coach Oats saw me telling the guys to foul so my biggest concern was when we went to foul they were going to shoot a half court shot." @UCLAMBB HC Mick Cronin talks about the thought to foul while up three with under five seconds left. pic.twitter.com/cJjE5c9yiv

— CBS Sports Network (@CBSSportsNet) March 29, 2021

Cronin acknowledged his players bailed him out and thanked them for doing so.

Now UCLA will face Michigan in the finals of the East Regional with a spot in the Final Four on the line. USC and Oregon State are also representing the Pac-12 in the Elite Eight.