A year after wild atmosphere at McKale, Bruins and Wildcats to meet there again

When only two reporters showed up to interview UCLA coach Mick Cronin after the Bruins’ 74-62 win at ASU on Thursday, he stopped himself briefly to introduce a thought he was not asked about.

“It’s been fun flying under the radar the last couple of months,” Cronin said. “Because of what happened in Vegas, I think people gave up on us.”

What happened in Vegas was that UCLA lost to Illinois and Baylor in a November multiteam event … but the Bruins haven’t lost since then.

That’s 14 wins in a row, the third-longest win streak in the nation, elevating the Bruins to the No. 5 spot in the Associated Press Top 25 and into the early driver’s seat in the Pac-12 race.

That ensures UCLA won’t be flying under the radar Saturday, especially if you consider how the verbal fireworks annually accompanying the Bruins to McKale Center reached another level last season.

In Arizona’s 76-66 win on an early Thursday evening last February, fans shouted expletives at UCLA standouts Tyger Campbell and Johnny Juzang. Additionally, the parent of a Bruin player told the Los Angeles Times that a fan spewed verbal insults to the point where the parent’s young child was so upset he had to be taken from the arena. The parent also told the Times that police eventually removed the fan.

The elevated temperature inside McKale went on to draw national attention after UCLA player Mac Etienne was shown on a Barstool Arizona video appearing to spit toward the UA student section as he left the court at the end of the game.

UA police said afterward that an officer saw the spitting first-hand and cited Etienne for "Assault with Intent to Injure, Insult or Provoke," a Class 3 misdemeanor.

Etienne pleaded not guilty to the charge in Pima County Justice Court last March 31 and was later assigned to a diversion program that effectively ended the case. Both schools expressed regret over the environment.

UCLA spokesman Scott Markley said after the game that “UCLA athletics is committed to and expects the highest level of sportsmanship," while Arizona AD Dave Heeke said he spoke to leaders and members of UA’s ZonaZoo student section afterward.

“We're not gonna lower ourselves to the level of degrading comments directed at individuals,” Heeke said on Feb. 5, two days after the UCLA game. “We can be better than that. We'll support our team. We'll make it an intense environment. That was my message to our students.”

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So what will happen this time? Multiple attempts to reach UA officials and UA police about how they will handle Saturday’s game management were unsuccessful, but the Pac-12 apparently has weighed in.

“The Pac-12 has been in contact with both institutions to review event management, operations and security planning for Saturday’s contest,” the Pac-12 said in a statement given upon request to the Star and L.A. Times. “The incidents that occurred last season were privately addressed with each institution, and the conference has reiterated its expectations that all involved adhere to the league’s standards of ethical conduct and sportsmanship.”

While Etienne was redshirting with a knee injury last season when he sat on the UCLA bench, he’s now a reserve post player averaging 5.7 minutes over 15 games played. When the Times asked Cronin on Thursday about how he would handle the McKale Center crowd, especially with Etienne returning, Cronin said he wasn’t worried.

“Unless they’re gonna let 'em come out of the stands and stuff like that,” Cronin said, on an interview video UCLA posted to YouTube.

It’s the “last thing I'm worried about," he added. "I’m worried about (Azuolas) Tubelis. The guy’s having an unbelievable year. Tubelis and (Oumar) Ballo are scoring at a major clip, probably the most productive tandem of big guys in America.”

Cronin might have a point. Whatever the environment is like surrounding the court Saturday, it is certain to be intense on it.

UCLA (17-2, 8-0 Pac-12) has its 14-game winning streak, and No. 11 Arizona (16-3, 5-3) is three games back of the Bruins already in Pac-12 play, making this one something of a must-win if the Wildcats intend to defend their league title.

Even for a game in January, there's a lot at stake. No matter how anyone reacts.

“We’re playing a great team that has all the right pieces and is well-coached,” UA coach Tommy Lloyd said. “It’s gonna be a real challenge.”