Mick Cronin revealed the key for UCLA basketball after the 63-61 win over No. 9 Michigan State. After getting off to a slow start in the Big Ten, the Bruins are picking up steam with their second straight ranked win. With its recent signature win, UCLA is now 17-6 and 8-4 in its new conference. The impressive thing is that this team's victory came with its shooting of just 35% from the field.

In a postgame interview with Los Angeles Times UCLA beat writer Ben Bolch, Cronin revealed what he thought was critical in this game and something to monitor going forward for his program.

“We only had three turnovers. I told the guys, ‘We get to the NCAA tournament, and we play every game with three turnovers, we’ll cut the nets down.'”

After a very encouraging first four years with the program, Mick Cronin is starting to build some more momentum with the Bruins. Last season was a very trying one for UCLA basketball, as the team went 16-17 overall. This year was expected to be a bounce-back year for the program, and it was through the non-conference slate and this team's first few conference games.

However, after starting Big Ten play 2-0, UCLA basketball would go on to lose four straight games. One of those defeats came to the then-No. 24 ranked Spartans. At 12-6 and 2-4 in their new conference, the Bruins were on the verge of having another dismal season like last year's. Fortunately, Mick Cronin's team has now won five straight games and is poised to return to the top 25.

Now projected as a No. 6 seed, UCLA basketball has the chance to shoot up the Big Ten standings. The Bruins have eight games left on their schedule. Of those eight clashes, only two contests are against ranked teams. That includes a February 28th visit to No. 7 Purdue. If UCLA continues its form, that clash could be vital for the conference's regular season title chase.

Overall, Mick Cronin knows his team well. The Bruins' low turnovers allowed them to take seven more shots than the Spartans, compensating for their inefficient shooting. Meanwhile, Michigan State had 16 turnovers in a two-point affair, and that disparity decided the game. Winning the turnover battle becomes even more vital heading into March. Cronin understands that and knows that taking care of the ball could decide whether his team loses in the first round or makes another surprising run to the Final Four.