The UCLA basketball program dropped to 5-4 on the season with a 67-60 loss to Ohio State on Saturday, and UCLA head coach Mick Cronin explained what the team has to improve on to get better as the season goes on.

“We can't impose our will,” Mick Cronin said, via UCLA men's basketball on Twitter. “Really, really good teams get better in the second half. We get worse. The only way to solve that is to be deeper… As soon as the guys we got out there start to get fatigued, we can't get stops.”

Cronin's UCLA basketball program has been a contender since he has taken over, but this year has been a bit of a down season so far. It was a bit expected, as the Bruins entered the season not ranked in the AP Poll. Despite that, UCLA did show some promise early on in the season.

The Bruins started the year 3-0 before narrowly losing to Marquette in the Maui Invitational. They beat Chaminade before losing to Gonzaga by four in the last game in Maui. Marquette is ranked No. 6, while Gonzaga is No. 15 in the country. However, UCLA has losses to Villanova and the aforementioned Ohio State basketball program on the resume now.

The Bruins will have to pick up some quality wins in Pac-12 play to make the tournament now. As Cronin said, it will be on the depth to step up and make it so the team is not worn down as games go along. It will be interesting to see how UCLA progresses throughout the season and where the Bruins will stand come selection Sunday.