UCLA men’s basketball coach Mick Cronin has not made it past the first weekend of March Madness in five seasons.

And after enduring consecutive second-round exits during the past two seasons, Cronin focused on constructing a revamped roster that filled gaps that had confounded the Bruins the past two seasons: defense and rebounding.

“This is probably one of the best defensive teams I’ve been on in my three years here,” senior guard/forward Eric Dailey Jr. said. “We got a lot of size, a lot of athleticism. Everybody’s been flying around, which is really good. And it might not be perfect every time, but everybody’s hustling to stop the ball and that’s the most important part of defense.”

The Bruins added four players through the transfer portal, alongside four freshmen, including four-star recruit Joe Philon III and international phenom Nikola Kusturica — a projected 2028 NBA draft lottery pick.

No. 22 UCLA opens its season against former Pac-12 rival No. 5 Arizona at 7 p.m. Monday in Las Vegas. The Bruins’ new lineup will be tested immediately by a Wildcats squad led by 7-foot-2 center and Associated Press preseason All-American Motiejus Krivas.

Cronin and his staff added reinforcements in the backcourt after the departure of Skyy Clark and Donovan Dent to Louisiana State.

The coach found junior guard Trent Perry’s counterpart in sophomore Jaylen Petty. The Texas Tech transfer averaged 9.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, playing primarily in a sixth-man role until earning a starting job when JT Toppin went down with a season-ending injury.

Petty is touted as an ultra-efficient sharpshooter, posting a 37.5% clip from beyond the arc last season. Through the Bruins’ first two scrimmages, Petty scored 21 points on eight-for-23 from the field and four-for-15 from deep.

“He’s still adjusting. He’s a feature guy here. I don’t coach guys to bring them along. I’m coaching him like he’s a senior every day,” Cronin said. “My expectation level for him is extremely high. Trent went through that. It’s an adjustment when you go from being a backup-type option, even when you start, to somebody with the spotlight on them. He’s going to have a lot of big games. I tell him all the time how happy I am that he is here.”

Joining Petty in the new-look backcourt is Butler transfer Azavier Robinson, who made 15 starts as a freshman but had his season cut short by a wrist injury that required surgery.

Robinson adds much-needed defensive pressure in the backcourt and is the first option off the bench to replace Petty or Perry. Robinson has made six steals across both scrimmages and has been a pertinent injection of energy off the bench.

“The guy was 0-for-six, and he might have been the most important guy,” Cronin said after a preseason game against San Diego. “Ten deflections, four steals. The crowd’s cheering. Four rebounds for a guy that’s 6 foot 2. He’s just a winning player, and he’s only a sophomore. He played 15 games last year because he broke his wrist. He was out seven months with screws in his wrist. He’s still a developing young guy.”

The Bruins also are expected to get a big boost from the newcomers in the frontcourt.

Sophomore forward/center Filip Jovic looks to be Cronin’s sixth man. Despite being listed at 6 feet 8, Jovic is dominant in the paint and around the rim, tallying 14 rebounds while also going six-for-11 from the field, taking shots mostly in the interior.

Jovic embodies the physical toughness, motor and grit on both sides of the floor that the Bruins lacked the past two seasons. The Auburn transfer brings the interior presence and defensive prowess that senior forward/center Xavier Booker lacks.

“He is a ferocious player of toughness. He is not the typical European guy,” Cronin said. “He’s not the tallest guy, but I was complaining about wanting a tough guy from Europe — he’s that guy.”

Joining Jovic in the frontcourt, Kusturica started in both scrimmages and has the body composition and athleticism to play both forward positions while also handling the ball and initiating the offense.

The freshman struggled offensively during two preseason scrimmages, but he has proved that he can influence the game without scoring. Kusturica combined for 12 rebounds, seven assists, five steals and two blocks.

“That’s why he’s a special player. Most people that are 17 are juniors in high school,” Cronin said. “It’s very rare. I’m very thankful he put his faith in us to help further his development. He’s going to have games with 35, but he’s going to have games ... where he’s clearly a dominant player without making a lot of shots, but he gets that.”

Apart from Jovic and Robinson, Philon has also been one of the central additions off the bench.

Philon — who is regarded as one of the best defensive players in the UCLA recruiting class — has played as advertised through the first two scrimmages, recording five steals and two blocks. While he is a longer and lankier frontcourt option, his athleticism allows him to impose his will in passing lanes, take scorers one-on-one in the defensive halfcourt and block shots in the interior.

UCLA coach Bob Chesney and the Bruins improved to 8-0 with a win over Nevada on Saturday and were rewarded with a move up to No. 5 in the Associated Press top 25 poll released Sunday.

The Bruins are ranked in the top five for the first time since the 2001 season and sit atop the Big Ten standings.

While the winning streak was extended, UCLA was not without problems to address this week. The offense got off to a sluggish start and relied heavily on the defense to keep Nevada in check until the offense could find its footing.

The volume of mistakes captured on game film gives Chesney confidence his team won’t get too caught up the hype surrounding the program.

“After every win you feel like there is so much work to be done,” Chesney said. “I don’t think you ever walk out of a game regardless of what it is and feel like, ‘Man, we have arrived, we’ve made it.’ Not one guy on this team probably feels that way — not one coach feels that way. So with every win, it’s nice. You have to enjoy them, because it is not easy to do.

“But at the same point in time, there is a lot of work that still needs to go into this thing. We have got to get better. We’ve got to better. We’ve got to get better.”

Bruin alum Nakase wins WNBA title

UCLA alum Natalie Nakase is a WNBA champion.

Nakase, who worked her way up from Bruins walk-on to starting point guard and team captain, showed the same grit while rapidly leading the Golden State Valkyries to a WNBA title on Saturday.

The Valkyries rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the series, winning the first Game 7 in WNBA history by a score of 68-63.

The jubilant celebration at Chase Center, better known among fans as “Ballhalla,” unfolded ahead of schedule.

Owner Joe Lacob vowed the team would win a championship within five years. Golden State became the first WNBA franchise to reach the playoff during its debut season last year. And somehow in Year 2, it won the WNBA title.

While many credit Nakase for building a winning culture, she also credits Lacob for setting high expectations and backing it up with every resource she needed to win.

“I’m impatient. I’m obsessive but it’s because he pushes me,” she told the Associated Press. “He pushes me. He leads. He says, ‘Look, we’re going to take care of and we are going to get all the resources you want,’ and so that’s what I’m saying, is someone who invests in women’s sports, this is a result.”

Bruins on deck

Here is this week’s UCLA athletics schedule. All Times are PDT.

Monday, Nov. 2
Women’s basketball vs. Lehigh, 11:30 a.m.
Men’s basketball vs. Arizona in Las Vegas, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, Nov. 4

Men’s soccer vs. Washington, 5 p.m.
Women’s soccer at Wisconsin, 5 p.m.

Thursday, Nov. 5

Men’s and women’s tennis at ITA Conference Masters Championships, All day
Men’s and women’s tennis at ITA Sectional Championships, All day
Women’s volleyball at Illinois, 4 p.m.
Women’s basketball vs. UC Irvine, 7 p.m.

Friday, Nov. 6

Men’s and women’s tennis at ITA Conference Masters Championships, All day
Men’s and women’s tennis at ITA Sectional Championships, All day
Swimming and driving at USC, All day
Men’s basketball vs. North Florida, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 7

Men’s and women’s tennis at ITA Conference Masters Championships, All day
Men’s and women’s tennis at ITA Sectional Championships, All day
Football at Minnesota, 9 a.m.
Men’s water polo vs. UC San Diego, 1 p.m.
Women’s volleyball at Purdue, 5 p.m.

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