UCLA men’s basketball to face Saint Mary’s on path to Sweet 16

The Bruins may have avoided an upset, but that doesn’t mean coach Mick Cronin slept easy Thursday night.

“Watching Saint Mary’s before I went to sleep was the worst thing I could have done,” Cronin said. “I stayed up all night with paranoia.”

No. 4 seed UCLA men’s basketball (26-7, 15-5 Pac-12) will take on No. 5 seed Saint Mary’s (26-7, 12-3 WCC) on Saturday night in Portland, Oregon, after surviving a first-round scare against No. 13 seed Akron. Should the blue and gold defeat its Round of 32 opponent, it will head to the Sweet 16 in two straight seasons for the first time since the 2014 and 2015 tournaments.

While the Bruins have not faced the Gaels in 32 years, Cronin said he is very familiar with his Northern California opponent and its coach, Randy Bennett.

“Randy and I go way back,” Cronin said. “The genius of what they do is they master what they do. … They’re not going to come out and try and trick you. The way they trick you is by being great at what they do.”

While UCLA trailed for the majority of its opening-round game Thursday, Saint Mary’s picked up a near wire-to-wire 82-53 win over No. 12 seed Indiana to advance to the Round of 32.

The game showcased not only the Gaels’ ninth-ranked defense, but also an offense that Cronin said is much better than the numbers indicate. Entering Saturday, Saint Mary’s ranks 49th in KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric.

Junior guard/forward Jaime Jaquez Jr. said the Gaels’ underrated offense begins with dynamic backcourt play.

“They run a lot of pick and roll, (and) they have crafty guards that can pass and score,” Jaquez said. “We’re going to have to do everything we can to disrupt them and get them out of their system.”

Bennett’s offense is initiated by guard Tommy Kuhse, who is coming off a 19-point, six-assist performance in the win over the Hoosiers. Despite winning the West Coast Conference Sixth Man of the Year award, Kuhse has started at the point as of late, gradually increasing his scoring duties in the process.

In his last seven games – all starts – Kuhse has averaged 18.9 points and four assists per game while playing the entire 40 minutes on five occasions.

“Kuhse is the problem, not the pick and roll,” Cronin said. “If you watch the film, the guy’s head is up and it’s like he can see through the other coach. … He can start to read the coverages.”

Starting next to Kuhse in the backcourt is Logan Johnson – another Gael who Cronin said he is familiar with.

Johnson started his career under Cronin at Cincinnati before transferring to Saint Mary’s following the departure of the now-UCLA coach. Cronin – who recruited Johnson in 2017 – said his former player’s strengths are on the defensive end.

In addition to being one of four Gaels to average double figures offensively, Johnson averages two steals a night – the most of any player in the WCC.

“(I) recruited him (Johnson) because he’s one of the best athletes that you’ll see play college basketball,” Cronin said Thursday night. “He impacts the game in every possible way. He blocks shots. How many point guards block shots?”

UCLA and Saint Mary’s shared three opponents this season: top-seeded Gonzaga, Oregon and Bellarmine. The Bruins bested the Knights in November, but came up empty against the Bulldogs and Ducks in three tries.

The Gaels, on the other hand, beat all three, including a 10-point victory over Gonzaga on Feb. 26. The win made Saint Mary’s one of three teams to take down the top overall seed this season and highlighted a stretch of six wins in seven games.

Senior guard Jules Bernard said UCLA has to use its 57-53 victory over Akron as inspiration to take down a surging Saint Mary’s squad.

“It was definitely a good test for us to get out of the way – play a tough team like that,” Bernard said. “To have that game under our belt, I think it will help propel us a little bit.”

UCLA and Saint Mary’s will tip off their Round of 32 clash at 4:10 p.m. on Saturday.