The UCLA Bruins suffered a frustrating loss to the Minnesota Golden Gophers 64-61 on Tuesday night. For head coach Mick Cronin, it was clearly a frustrating night. At times, earlier in the season, Cronin received some criticism for comments he made where he seemed to be throwing the players under the bus.

With some inspired play in the opening minutes, Mick Cronin’s players heeded his warning about Minnesota’s being better than its crummy record. They played suffocating defense, forcing four shot-clock violations before halftime. They shut down the Golden Gophers’ top player, holding Dawson Garcia to five points by the game’s midpoint.

The Bruins miss 10 of their 15 free throws in the second half and squander a 17-point lead, as the Golden Gophers score the go-ahead layup with eight seconds left and hand them a 64-61 defeat.

Mick Cronin is one win away from his 500th career victory, and it doesn't sound like he's planning to achieve win No. 600 at Indiana or any other school.

Bruins have home games against Minnesota and Ohio State this week as they look to improve as postseason approaches.

UCLA notably shot 9 of 19 (47.4%) from the free-throw line. A problem that has struck the Gophers all season was finally felt on the other sideline, but Cronin blamed it on the fa