Sports
UCLA's Pac-12 free fall continues as comeback fades in loss to California
Never one to hide his feelings, Mick Cronin was finally at a loss for words Saturday night.
The UCLA coach didn’t show up to speak with reporters after his team’s latest loss. He instead sent assistant Rod Palmer to parse the fallout.
Could it go any lower for the Bruins?
Hard to say. There’s still more than two months left in the season.
The only certainty is that the Bruins sank to new depths at Pauley Pavilion, falling to an opponent that had won only one game over the previous five weeks and had dropped its last 19 Pac-12 games going back to last season.
UCLA changed all that, giving California a speck of life while darkening its own already bleak outlook.
A new point guard rotation, different lineups, more minutes for seldom-used players … nothing worked for the Bruins during a 66-57 loss.
UCLA (6-9 overall, 1-3 Pac-12) has dropped four consecutive home games for the first time since the 2002-03 season — coach Steve Lavin’s last — while also falling to the Golden Bears inside Pauley Pavilion for the first time since February 2010.
It has been a frustrating turnabout for the Bruins, who have lost seven of eight games and are staring at the possibility of a first-to-worst reversal in the conference standings after winning the Pac-12 by four games last season.
In addition to skipping his session with reporters, Cronin also did not complete his usual postgame radio interview, nor did he make players available to speak with the media. Palmer said Cronin was still talking to the team and did not want to keep reporters waiting.
What was Cronin’s message to his players? Palmer said it had not changed.
“You have to play harder if you want a different result,” Palmer said. “You have to do things different if you want a different result and we haven’t been doing those different things. We’ve been stressing it in practice but for some reason, whatever it is — it could be youth, it could be inexperience — we’re just not getting the job done.”
When Cronin had last addressed reporters, after a loss to Stanford on Wednesday, he questioned his players’ aptitude and said that freshman guard Ilane Fibleuil’s exit from the game after only 21 seconds was for defying instructions and committing a turnover.
“That’s on him, not me,” Cronin said of Fibleuil’s quick hook. “Like I tell guys at this level, you know, I tell ‘em all it’s hard. So you can quit and go home, make an excuse and transfer like 1,900 guys, or you get better. Look in the mirror. But you gotta look in the mirror first.”
Cronin also intimated that his roster could look considerably different next season if players did not toughen up.
“You can’t call your mommy; she can’t help you,” Cronin said. “You’ve got an opportunity of a lifetime and it may not last forever depending on your performance.”
The Bruins did not exactly appear energized three days later in immediately falling into a big hole against Cal with their offense continuing to stumble. As poorly as they played, once trailing by as many as 14 points in the second half, the Bruins pulled within 61-55 with 1:44 left before Cal’s Jalen Cone hit a backbreaking three-pointer.
It was that kind of night for UCLA, which also got pushed around in being outrebounded by 10.
“Either you’re going to hit someone or you’re going to get hit,” Palmer said, “and we’ve been getting hit a lot.”
Cronin was so flabbergasted over a referee’s call — not to mention the way his team was playing late in the first half — that he flung his suit jacket over the bench, earning a technical foul.
UCLA coach Mick Cronin, right, yells at a referee during the first half of the Bruins’ loss to California on Saturday night.
(Mark J. Terrill / Associated Press)
Nothing has come easy after wholesale roster turnover necessitating seven freshmen and bigger roles for top returners Adem Bona and Dylan Andrews.
Seeking to change his team’s sagging fortunes, Cronin had instructed Sebastian Mack to take over primary point guard duties from Andrews, stuck in an epic funk.
It only made things worse.
The Bruins missed their first five shots and committed three turnovers while giving up the game’s first nine points.
Cronin then gave Jan Vide a few minutes at point guard and things didn’t get much better. So the coach went back to Andrews, whose four points in rapid-fire fashion pulled the Bruins to within 32-23 at halftime.
Presumably intended to take pressure off Andrews, who was shooting 24.5% from the field over his previous four games while logging nearly as many turnovers as assists, the move only led to more turnovers and sloppy offense for the Bruins.
“Coach is trying to put the ball in people’s hands to score, guys who can score, and a lot of times they just think it’s for them to score when in actuality it’s for them to score if they can, but find the open guy if they can’t,” Palmer said. “And that’s the disconnect right there. So we just have to stress using each other, sharing the ball with each other and hopefully things will get better.”
Andrews never found much of a shooting form, finishing with 10 points while making four of 12 shots. Mack led UCLA with 20 points and center Adem Bona added 14, but the Bruins made only two of 10 three-pointers in another abysmal showing from long range.
Guard Jaylon Tyson scored 22 points on nine-for-12 shooting for Cal (5-10, 1-3), whose previous victories had come over St. Thomas, Cal State Bakersfield, Santa Clara and UC San Diego.
At this point, it’s not obvious if their triumph over UCLA qualifies as the Golden Bears’ best of the season.
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The Seattle Seahawks locked down the top seed in the NFC playoffs and a strong path to the Super Bowl on Saturday night with a season finale win over the San Francisco 49ers.
Seattle also finished with their best regular season record in franchise history, clinching 14 wins for the first time ever.
The Seahawks held on to a 10-point victory despite outgaining the 49ers 363 yards to 173, and running 64 plays to San Francisco’s 42.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks fails to catch the ball against Ji’Ayir Brown #27 of the San Francisco 49ers during an NFL game on Jan. 3, 2026 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California. (Matthew Huang/Icon Sportswire)
Seattle missed a field goal in the fourth quarter and turned the ball over on downs in the first quarter to waste two red zone drives, but dominated on defense to prevent those missed opportunities from coming back to haunt them.
The 49ers wasted their best drive of the night as well when quarterback Brock Purdy was intercepted at Seattle’s three-yard line in the fourth quarter facing a 10-point deficit, which seemingly secured the game for the Seahawks.
NFL WEEK 17 SCORES: AFC NORTH, NFC SOUTH UP FOR GRABS AS PLAYOFF PICTURE ALMOST COMPLETE
Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold, in his first season on the team, completed 20 passes on 26 attempts for 198 yards and helped set up the only touchdown of the entire game in the first quarter.
Darnold redeemed a disappointing Week-18 game for the Minnesota Vikings last season when he completed just 18 of 41 passes for 166 yards in a battle for the top seed against the Detroit Lions.
Darnold said “Learning from mistakes, and staying calm from the pocket,” made the difference in his performance Saturday compared to a year ago, in a postgame interview with ESPN.
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Jaxon Smith-Njigba #11 of the Seattle Seahawks carries the ball against the San Francisco 49ers during the second quarter of a game at Levi’s Stadium on January 03, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy had just 127 yards with the late interception, and took a big hit on his final pass of the night, then took a while to get back up. He was eventually able to walk off the field, and Seattle ran the clock out.
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When it’s Harvey Kitani versus David Rebibo in a high school basketball coaching matchup, you know it’s going to be a defensive grind. They demand defensive production, so Rolling Hills Prep and Harvard-Westlake went at it for 32 minutes on Saturday night at St. Francis.
It took four consecutive free throws by Joe Sterling in the final 21 seconds for Harvard-Westlake (17-2) to hold on for a 50-46 victory. About the only mistake Rolling Hills Prep (13-5) made was choosing to foul Sterling, well known as a clutch free-throw shooter. But the Huskies had no choice after a three by Aaron Heinze got them to within 48-46 with 2.6 seconds left.
Sterling finished with 16 points. Pierce Thompson had 14 points and Dominique Bentho added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Nick Welch Jr. had a big game for Rolling Hills Prep with 21 points on eight-for-14 shooting. Carter Fulton added 10 points.
Santa Margarita 72, Fairfax 41: The Eagles (19-2) opened a 21-2 lead after the first quarter and cruised to victory at St. Francis. Brayden Kyman scored 21 points, Kaiden Bailey had 17 and Drew Anderson had 15.
St. Pius X-St. Matthias 67, JSerra 62: Kayleb Kearse finished with 27 points in the victory. Jaden Bailes had 30 points for JSerra.
Sierra Canyon 77, Phoenix St. Mary’s 45: The Trailblazers (13-1) tuned up for the start of Mission League play with a rout in Arizona. Brandon McCoy scored 18 points and Brannon Martinsen had 17.
Chaminade 70, Palos Verdes 44: Temi Olafisoye had 17 points for the 18-1 Eagles.
Thousand Oaks 53, Oak Park 46: The Lancers won their 16th consecutive game to stay unbeaten. Gabriel Chin had 14 points.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 67, Layton Christian (Utah) 64: NaVorro Bowman led the Knights (13-4) with 24 points. Josiah Nance added 16 points.
Bishop Montgomery 71, Palisades 68: Austin Kirksey had 24 points and Tarron Williams scored 22 points to help Bishop Montgomery improve to 15-2. Freshman Phillip Reed scored 24 points for Palisades.
Crespi 60, Modesto Christian 49: The Celts improved to 13-6.
St. John Bosco 62, Chandler (Ariz.) Basha 54: Christian Collins scored 31 points and Max Ellis had 22 for the Braves in a win in Arizona.
Mayfair 69, Cypress 56: Josiah Johnson’s 27 points helped Mayfair improve to 8-5.
Inglewood 98, Pasadena 97: Jason Crowe Jr. made the game-winning shot in overtime and finished with 51 points for Inglewood.
Girls basketball
Harvard-Westlake 51, Phoenix Desert Vista 39: Freshman Lucia Khamenia finished with 24 points for Harvard-Westlake.
Brentwood 59, Cardinal Newman 53: The Eagles improved to 9-4. Kelsey Sugar scored 24 points.
Saugus 57, Birmingham 52: Kayla Tanijiri had 16 points for Birmingham (13-3).
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Only one more week of the 2025 NFL regular season remains, as Week 17 brought about some more playoff implications and even 2026 NFL Draft key positions.
The biggest takeaway from the slate of Week 17 is that two divisions in the NFL — the AFC North and NFC South — will be determined by whoever wins key matchups in Week 18.
First, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers getting upset by the Cleveland Browns at home, as Aaron Rodgers couldn’t find Marquez Valdes-Scantling on a controversial game-ending play in the end zone. That loss sets up the AFC North title game between the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens, which is only possibly thanks to a road victory where Derrick Henry scored four touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers.
Then, despite both the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers losing their respective matchups, the NFL tiebreakers make their Week 18 bout the NFC South title game.
Aaron Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts during the second quarter of the game against the Cleveland Browns at Huntington Bank Field on Dec. 28, 2025, in Cleveland. (Nick Cammett/Getty Images)
And while everyone was focused on the NFL playoff picture, the two-game 4 o’clock slate gave us the New York Giants against the Las Vegas Raiders, the winner of which owning the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft.
The Giants would’ve solidified the pick with a loss, but Jaxson Dart and the Giants’ offense blew out Geno Smith and the Raiders to relinquish the pick, which now belongs in Sin City.
NFL WEEK 16 SCORES: PLAYOFF PRESSURE LEADS TO THRILLING FINISHES ACROSS LEAGUE
Here’s how every NFL game played out:
THURSDAY, DEC. 25
– DALLAS COWBOYS 30, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS 23
– MINNESOTA VIKINGS 23, DETROIT LIONS 10
– DENVER BRONCOS 20, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS 13
Dak Prescott (4) of the Dallas Cowboys celebrates after his team’s touchdown against the Washington Commanders in the second quarter of a game at Northwest Stadium on Dec. 25, 2025 in Landover, Maryland. (Greg Fiume/Getty Images)
SATURDAY, DEC. 27
– HOUSTON TEXANS 20, LOS ANGELES CHARGERS 16
– BALTIMORE RAVENS 41, GREEN BAY PACKERS 24
SUNDAY, DEC. 28
– CINCINNATI BENGALS 37, ARIZONA CARDINALS 14
– CLEVELAND BROWNS 13, PITTSBURGH STEELERS 7
– NEW ORLEANS SAINTS 34, TENNESSEE TITANS 26
– JACKSONVILLE JAGUARS 23, INDIANAPOLIS COLTS 17
– MIAMI DOLPHINS 20, TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS 17
– NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS 42, NEW YORK JETS 10
– SEATTLE SEAHAWKS 27, CAROLINA PANTHERS 10
– NEW YORK GIANTS 34, LAS VEGAS RAIDERS 10
– PHILADELPHIA EAGLES 13, BUFFALO BILLS 12
– SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS-CHICAGO BEARS (TBD)
Bundle FOX One and FOX Nation to stream the entire FOX Nation library, plus live FOX News, Sports, and Entertainment at our lowest price of the year. The offer ends on Jan. 4, 2026. (Fox One; Fox Nation)
MONDAY, DEC. 29
– LOS ANGELES RAMS-ATLANTA FALCONS (TBD)
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