The UCLA Bruins are in their first season in the Big Ten Conference. With that expansion of the conference, coaches like Mick Cronin are dealing with some new challenges, including handling the travel and a difficult conference schedule.

UCLA basketball head coach Mick Cronin explained why his team is having difficulty in the new Big 10 conference.

UCLA basketball coach Mick Cronin has been on one lately. First, he ripped his own players in a postgame rant after a loss to Michigan on Jan. 8. Just a few days later, he got ejected on purpose late in the game during an eventual loss to Maryland.

Tim says Michigan bonding in California for a week ... Tim gives credit to Dusty May for assembling this roster. 27:30 - Mick Cronin lost his mind Tim likes the way Dusty handled coaching better ...

That means it is time to keep closer tabs on the goings-on in men’s Big Ten hoops action. This Bracketology series will serve to give an approximate idea of where the conference’s best teams may be seeded in the big dance, but it will also check in on top teams’ recent form as well as their upcoming schedules.

A busy week in the Big Ten created significant volatility in the conference standings. However, those results did lead to significant movement at the bottom of the rankings. Minnesota (2-0), USC (1-0) and Ohio State (1-0) each made big jumps,

Under the leadership of Dusty May, it looked like Michigan was poised to become the next juggernaut in the Big Ten, and while that still might be the case, the Wolverines definitely hit some stumbling blocks with recent road losses to Minnesota and Purdue.

A lot was revealed about the Bruins on Jan. 7. While it was then-No. 24 Michigan who bulldozed then-No. 22 UCLA by 19 points – handing the Bruins their second consecutive conference defeat – Wolverine center Vladislav Goldin simultaneously positioned a spotlight on the Bruins’ greatest weakness: their height.

UCLA men's basketball coach Mick Cronin offers his critique of the pressure the exhausting Big Ten schedule has put on the Bruins.

Aday Mara is the UCLA player who has really improved in recent weeks, making the Bruins better. USC has to have an answer for him in the paint.

Sure, mapping out games for 18 teams coast to coast is challenging, but do you miss the relative sanity of the old Pac-12’s basketball schedules?

Head Coach Mick Cronin brands the UCLA Bruins 'gutless' after a harsh loss to the Michigan Wolverines; later, revamps strategies leading to major wins.