The ship went down with the captain Tuesday.

After UCLA men’s basketball choked a 17-point lead against Minnesota at Pauley Pavilion, coach Mick Cronin was quick to point the finger at himself.

But it didn’t stay in that direction long.

“I feel like we didn’t play well,” Cronin said. “And if I say anything, then I throw players under the bus.”

Then Cronin did just that.

“We’re so poorly coached, we didn’t know (Minnesota forward) Dawson Garcia was going to spin back to his left hand,” Cronin said, sarcasm radiating through the Dick Enberg Press Room. “We had two guys on him and let him lay it in; so I guess we didn’t go over that. I guess we didn’t go over, ‘Don’t just let him stand there and shoot it,’ I guess we didn’t go over ‘converge on him like everybody else in our league does.’ I guess we didn’t go over it.”

Frustration is mounting in Westwood – from both Cronin and Bruin fans – and failure from the coach in March might signal the hiring of the program’s 15th head coach.

Cronin was considered UCLA’s undisputed savior not long ago. After three straight Sweet 16 appearances from 2021 to 2023, fans wondered if the coach would take the Bruins back to the mountaintop for the first time since 1995.

He’s long made headlines for his emotional outbursts. And it’s earned him credit from his players who’ve made the league.

But there is still one rule.

He has to win.

With his team essentially dismantled following the 2022-2023 campaign, Cronin’s savior status in Westwood hung by a thread. He had to prove himself yet again.

He had to prove he could build a winning team amid the advent of name, image and likeness – having inherited many of his stars, including Jaime Jaquez Jr. and Tyger Campbell, when he arrived in 2019 – and that his hard-nosed coaching style was conducive to the modern transfer portal era, where players can leave a program at season’s end on a whim.

He failed to do the former last season. With Cronin routinely lambasting his young, inexperienced roster to the press, the Bruins finished with their first losing season since 2016 and the coach missed the Big Dance for the first time since 2010.

But then he forced a roster overhaul following last season’s 16-17 campaign, bringing in six transfers and two freshmen. However, not much else has changed.

At various points throughout the Bruins’ tumultuous season – once losing four in a row and more recently losing 2-of-3 to unranked teams – he’s called his roster delusional and soft. He’s said the Bruins lack a true leader as if he wasn’t the architect who designed the team.

With frequent outbursts on the bench, it’s unclear whether Cronin could guide a team into to the late stages of March Madness – much less a national championship. What young players need in crunch time is a beacon of sanity, not a ball of rage.

After the Bruins’ loss to the Golden Gophers, Cronin said his players had a losing mentality and criticized their toughness – again, the players he recruited.

He’s blamed his own coaching staff and, in spite of it all, said that he’s tougher on himself than any other coach in the league.

On Tuesday, he even blamed the fans.

Ironically, Cronin opened the postgame press conference saying he didn’t want to talk about the Bruins’ 9-for-19 free throw woes. But when he finally did, he pointed the finger at the home crowd.

“Our crowd’s mind is on the wrong stuff,” Cronin said. “Our crowd, they make it worse. When a guy misses a free throw, I mean, the stress in Pauley’s crazy when a guy – ‘Ughhh, ughhh.’ I mean, the guy’s not trying – how about help the guy? How about cheer for the guy? I mean, it’s not like he’s trying to miss the free throw. That just makes it worse. Everybody’s worried about the wrong stuff.”

The coach is old school. He’s honest. He doesn’t sugarcoat and he’s tough on his players.

He doesn’t care what you think.

After all, Cronin will always be the coach who brought the Bruins from the First Four to the Final Four in 2021.

But calling out your own players to the press rings a different tune when they’re the ones you hand-selected. And scolding your fans simply crosses the line. A coach can’t afford to lose both the locker room and the stands.

But winning tends to fix a lot of things.

And for Cronin to salvage his sinking reputation from his fan-blaming misstep, he needs nothing short of redemption. And UCLA can’t afford anything less.

The coach said his only concern is the NCAA Tournament. And if the Bruins make a deep run, all could be forgiven.

Sports is a results-based industry. Despite all the social-media-worthy quotes and viral on-the-court antics, Cronin has always been able to win.

But if UCLA gets embarrassed come March, the Bruins may have no choice but to part ways with a coach just one win away from 500.