Big minutes for center Aday Mara have coincided with winning time for UCLA

Given one statistic about Aday Mara’s value, UCLA coach Mick Cronin matched it with one of his own.

When a reporter mentioned that the Bruins are 8-0 this season when the sophomore center logs at least 15 minutes, Cronin added that the team has won all six games in which Mara plays at least 20 minutes.

So what’s the big takeaway from these analytics involving the tallest player on the team?

“Make sure he gets 20 minutes a game,” Cronin said Wednesday.

Those wondering why that wasn’t already the case after Mara enjoyed a breakthrough starting late last month should understand the circumstances. Mara contracted a suspected case of norovirus before the Bruins played Penn State several weeks ago, his condition later turning into a respiratory illness.

Throughout the ordeal, Mara lost more than 10 pounds. He only recently stopped practicing with tissues in his sock so he could blow his nose during a dead ball without having to leave the court.

“That shows how much he’s come in his competitive nature,” Cronin said, “and that’s why he’s getting better.”

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Mara’s meaning to the Bruins easily transcends his modest averages of 5.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 12.7 minutes per game. UCLA has won every game — beating Southern Utah, Prairie View A&M, Wisconsin, Washington, USC, Oregon, Michigan State and Ohio State — when Mara has hit the magic 15-minute threshold. In those eight games, Mara averaged 10.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks.

Playing more minutes the rest of the season likely would entail Mara spending more time on the court alongside Tyler Bilodeau instead of merely replacing him because of an injury, fatigue or foul trouble. Cronin also might need to consider using a lineup that includes Mara, Bilodeau and Eric Dailey Jr. if the coach wants to maximize Mara’s minutes; the concern with that lineup has been Dailey’s ability to guard small forwards.

In a nod to Mara’s improved defense, Cronin noted that he inserted him during the Bruins’ win over Ohio State on Sunday as a stopper during a dead ball. Mara finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and two blocks in 20 minutes.

“If you look analytically at our two-point defense when he’s in the game,” Cronin said, “it’s exponentially better because it’s not just blocked shots, it’s changed shots.”

Cronin credited Mara’s development to support staff including Dave Andrews, the team’s athletic performance coach, and parents who preached patience.

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“I thought he was going to adjust quicker,” Cronin said. “They’re the ones that told me, ‘Coach, he’s just a young kid now, he’s going to need some time.’ ”

It appears that time may be now.

Scene of their prime

UCLA is on the verge of returning to the site where its last magical postseason run started, though the atmosphere inside Mackey Arena on Friday night hardly should resemble the one the Bruins experienced four years ago.

Amid a 2021 NCAA tournament staged with COVID-19 protocols, attendance was capped at 1,350 — roughly 9% of capacity inside the 14,876-seat arena that should be rocking when the Bruins (20-8 overall, 11-6 Big Ten) face No. 20 Purdue (19-9, 11-6).

Cronin said his most vivid memory of UCLA’s 86-80 overtime victory over Michigan State in the First Four game came before tipoff. With the locker rooms occupied by the teams playing in the previous game, the Bruins and Spartans found themselves waiting together in Purdue’s practice gym.

“We’re in the holding area with Michigan State,” Cronin said. “It’s true. And we’re getting ready to play each other, and guys are changing and I’m sitting there, Tom Izzo’s sitting right there. It was like, is this like an AAU tournament? … Our guys are carrying their stuff up to the bench like an AAU game and putting their bag on the bench. I mean, it was just unbelievable.”

Cronin said the circumstances prevented his players from visiting the John Wooden statue outside the arena or other exhibits dedicated to the former Purdue star and UCLA coach, something Cronin said he intended to rectify on this trip that also will include a game at Northwestern on Monday.