Will the UCLA/ Arizona Basketball rivalry intensify again?

As UCLA finds their new head coach in Mick Cronin, will their new hire help re-intensify the Arizona Basketball rivalry with the Bruins?

Have you been following the postseason college basketball drama? Us too! By now I’m sure you’ve seen plenty of coaches switches schools, but one hire that has me particularly intrigued with regards to Arizona Basketball, is UCLA’s hiring of Mick Cronin.

Why? Well, if I’m being honest, I think Cronin is a solid, young coach. At the age of 47, he already has amassed 365 career wins in his 16 seasons of coaching.

Arizona Wildcats

More importantly, he’s spent the last 13 seasons in Cincinnati, leading the Bearcats to 296 wins, with nine NCAA Tournament appearances (nine straight) and just one Sweet 16 appearance.

I think Cronin can definitely coach, and has done a solid job in his career, so it’ll be interesting to see how he does with a bigger program and perhaps “better talent” to work with.

However, the thing I am most interested in is his ties to Arizona’s Sean Miller. Why you ask? Well, for those that are unaware, Xavier (Miller’s former school) is a rival to Cincinnati.

Miller of course coached the Musketeers from 2004-09 before joining the Cats. Cronin began coaching the Bearcats starting in 2006, coaching against Miller and the Musketeers for three seasons.

During that time Xavier went 2-1 versus Cincinnati, with that lone loss coming in Cronin’s first year with the Bearcats.

So to me, I think there’s a rivalry element there that I think could help re-energize the Arizona/UCLA basketball rivalry.

If that’s not enough for you, the bad blood between Xavier and Cincinnati (two schools separated by just roughly three miles) was on display in 2011, when a brawl broke out between both teams. (*Note, former Arizona grad transfer Mark Lyons was involved in the altercation).

To even add more salt to the rivalry, again here is what Miller said following the altercation…

"“If Cincinnati tries to do what they did (Saturday) they’re going to get a fight,” Miller said after UA beat Clemson. “So I’m proud of those guys.”"

Miller of course hasn’t been shy in taking little shots at Cronin in the past either! Here’s what he had to say following Arizona’s game against ASU in 2010.

Thoughts? Well, it can’t help to add a bit of intensity in this rivalry. The schools certainly have a bit of history, with the most recent drama happening in 2017, when Miller and then UCLA head coach Steve Alford called some retaliatory late timeouts in their wins that year.

At Zona Zealots, we’re excited to see some more drama in the rivalry perhaps and can’t wait to see what coach Cronin is able to do with the Bruins. Bear Down, Arizona!