Mick Cronin crowns Sebastian Mack as UCLA’s clutch closer: "It’s nice to have a Mariano Rivera"

Monday night featured a California rivalry in college basketball between Mick Cronin's UCLA Bruins and Eric Musselman's USC Trojans. The visiting team came out with an 82-76 victory, with Cronin throwing praise towards Sebastian Mack for a clutch performance.

In 23 minutes of action, Mack finished with 14 points and three rebounds on 4-of-7 shooting from the field. He even made a crucial 3-pointer in the final minutes of the game to keep the Trojans at bay.

Cronin talked about Mack's showing after the game, complimenting him for his relentless playstyle and not letting up in intensity against his opponents.

"Sebastian's got no fear. And when you've got a guy like that, he believes he can score at any time. So look, he's got his strengths, he's got his weaknesses, his attitude's been great all year," Cronin said.

"He's still a young kid. He's got to learn a lot. He's got to learn to be more consistent. His defense has got to improve. But when you try to put a team together, you've got different components. So it's good. It’s nice to have a Mariano Rivera."

What's next for Mick Cronin, UCLA

Mick Cronin and the Bruins have enjoyed solid form during the 2024-25 season so far. UCLA has a 15-6 overall record, prevailing in six of their first 10 games of the conference as they are riding a four-game win streak.

They are putting up 75.9 points on 47% shooting from the field and 34.2% from beyond the arc, beating opponents by a margin of 10.9 points per game.

Tyler Bilodeau leads the way with numbers of 13.9 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists on shooting splits of 50.5% overall and 39.6% from downtown. Eric Dailey Jr. comes next with 12 points and 4.3 rebounds.

Mack puts up 10.4 points and two rebounds off the bench, and Kobe Johnson contributes with 7.9 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.1 assists.

Mick Cronin and the Bruins prepare for their next matchup, hosting the No. 16 Oregon Ducks at the Pauley Pavilion on Thursday at 10:30 p.m. ET.