Mick Cronin has built his teams around intensity and fundamentals.

But the Bruins’ effort on the court Friday left the sixth-year head coach far from pleased.

“Three things you got to do: defend, rebound, take care of the ball,” Cronin said after the Bruins suffered their first loss of the season. “We didn’t defend. We didn’t take care of the ball. We didn’t really rebound early either.”

After succumbing to its earliest loss in a season since the 2020-21 campaign, then now-unranked UCLA men’s basketball (1-1) will have a chance to bounce back against Boston University (0-2) on Monday night in Pauley Pavilion. UCLA split its first two contests of the campaign, most recently falling 72-64 at the hands of New Mexico.

Defensive problems for the Bruins arose early against the Lobos – who knocked down nine of their first 11 shots.

“The expectation here is defense,” said junior guard Dylan Andrews. “We live by that. We come in here every day knowing that our offense is going to come, but defense, man, we have to get stops.”

And UCLA’s defense will once again be tested against a BU lineup highlighted by guard Miles Brewster – a preseason All-Patriot League selection.

Brewster, who is in his fifth season with the Terriers, started all 33 games last year and averaged 10.8 points, 3.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Despite Brewster and fellow guard Kyrone Alexander – an All-Rookie selection a year ago – anchoring down the backcourt, coach Joe Jones’ squad has struggled to find its footing, dropping its opening pair of contests to Northeastern and San Diego.

BU has allowed opponents to shoot well 54.7% from the field – an area where UCLA struggled against New Mexico, shooting at just a 36.4% clip.

A major contributor to that figure was the team’s inefficiency from deep.

“We got plenty of good, open looks,” said senior guard Kobe Johnson. “We just got to hit those shots.”

The Bruins knocked down just 5-of-23 attempts beyond the arc, a number resembling the struggles of last season when they shot at 33.2% – placing them 233rd in the nation.

Although that statline may look similar to those of last season, the players behind them are quite different.

Cronin trotted out the same starting five in both contests but said he’s unafraid of selecting starters based on matchups.

“I don’t really care about our opponent as much as I care about us,” Cronin said. “We’re going to play multiple lineups all year.”

However, one player who has seemingly cemented himself in the starting lineup is Tyler Bilodeau. The junior forward posted 23 points against the Lobos – the only member of the Bruins to reach double-figures – and crashed the boards for seven offensive rebounds.

“When you got a guy like TB, you hate to play against him, but you love him when he’s on your team,” Andrews said. “Anytime he gets that ball, I might as well just get back on defense.”

Johnson, junior guard Skyy Clark and sophomore guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. have emerged alongside Bilodeau and Andrews as Cronin’s starters to open the season, although Trent Perry has quickly carved out a role off the bench. The freshman guard registered 22:51 minutes against New Mexico – fifth-most of all players.

The rise of new faces, however, have pushed familiar ones to the wayside.

After being a focal point of the Bruins’ offense in his first year in Westwood, sophomore guard Sebastian Mack logged just nine minutes in the loss to the Lobos and was held to zero shot attempts.

Despite the demotion, Mack’s focus hasn’t shifted from aiding the team’s shared goal: win.

“Sebastian just wants to do whatever it takes to win,” Andrews said. “He doesn’t care if he’s starting, he doesn’t care if he’s coming off the bench, … he’s going to bring that energy we all know and love.”