Cronin could become the program’s first coach to take home the honor since Jim Harrick in 1995 if the Bruins close strong.
The Bruins’ head honcho is up for one of the top honors in the country.
The Atlanta Tipoff Club revealed the top 15 candidates for the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Award on Friday, and UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin made the cut. The late season watch list comes with a little over two weeks left in the regular season, and three weeks before the 10 semifinalists are set to be announced on March 9.
The four finalists will be announced on March 20, while the winner will be crowned at the Naismith Awards Brunch at the Final Four in Houston on April 2.
Joining Cronin on the watch list are Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, Alabama’s Nate Oats, Saint Mary’s Randy Bennett, Pittsburgh’s Jeff Capel, Northwestern’s Chris Collins, Missouri’s Dennis Gates, Charleston’s Pat Kelsey, Florida Atlantic’s Dusty May, Xavier’s Sean Miller, Iowa State’s TJ Otzelberger, Purdue’s Matt Painter, Marquette’s Shaka Smart, Kasnas State’s Jerome Tang and Texas’ Rodney Terry.
There are no previous winners on the watch list.
Since Cronin is the only coach from the Pac-12 who is still in contention for the national honor, he is likely the favorite to win the conference’s coach of the year award. Cronin won Pac-12 Coach of the Year in 2019-2020 – his first year in Westwood.
The last time a UCLA coach won the Naismith Award was when Jim Harrick earned it at the end of the 1994-1995 season. Harrick, Stanford’s Mike Montgomery and Washington State’s Tony Bennett are the only Pac-12 coaches to win the award since it was introduced in 1987.
Cronin has guided the Bruins to a 22-4 record so far this season, as well as a 13-2 mark in conference play. UCLA suffered two neutral site losses in mid-November, but is 19-2 since.
The Bruins’ 14-game winning streak that stretched from November to January was their longest since the 2007-2008 campaign. Even though that came to an end with back-to-back road losses, UCLA has rattled off five wins in a row and holds a 1.5-game lead over Arizona atop the Pac-12.
With five games left in the regular season, BartTorvik’s WinMatrix gives the Bruins a 97.8% chance of winning a share of the conference title and an 89.7% chance of winning it outright. UCLA hasn’t won a regular season Pac-12 crown since 2013, and that is their only conference title in the last 14 years.
Cronin is heavily favored to bring the Bruins back to their dominance atop the Pac-12, even if the team is set to depart for the Big Ten after next season.
On the national stage, UCLA is ranked No. 4 in the AP and Coaches Polls, No. 3 in the KenPom, No. 4 in the T-Rank, No. 4 in the NET and No. 4 in the BPI. The Bruins were widely seen as a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament entering this past week, but a win over Stanford on Thursday and losses elsewhere by Purdue and Alabama have the blue and gold threatening for the No. 1 seed in the West.
UCLA has not had a No. 1 seed in March Madness since 2008, which marked their last of three-straight Final Four trips.
Cronin took the Bruins to the Final Four in 2021, and he has them threatening to do so again in 2023.
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