UCLA head coach Mick Cronin likened his team’s second-round challenge in the NCAA tournament to a boxer moving up a weight class.

The seventh-seeded Bruins rolled Thursday to a 72-47 first-round victory over Utah State in the Midwest Region. Now, UCLA (23-10) will be up against a much tougher test Saturday in second-seeded Tennessee (28-7).

The Bruins are seeking their fourth trip to the Sweet 16 in the last five seasons. The Volunteers are looking for a third consecutive appearance.

Tip-off at Rupp Arena in Lexington, Ky., is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. Pacific Time and will air on TBS/truTV.

“We don’t get to take any of these points with us,” Cronin told reporters after the win over the Aggies. “Whole new ballgame.

“They used to say everybody thought they were tough until they walked in the ring with Mike Tyson. … It’s a different animal.”

The following day, Cronin said the Vols’ effort and defensive prowess is like watching his own team.

Opponents are scoring just 63 points per game, the nation’s 10th-best average. The 38.3% field goal percentage defense ranks fourth.

“You gotta match their intensity. I say that with everything they do,” Cronin said. “The way they screen, the way they cut, the way they go after the ball. They play the game the way it's supposed to be played. So, looking in the mirror a little bit with that.”

Tennessee features Naismith defensive player of the year finalists Jahmai Mashack and Zakai Ziegler in its backcourt. The Vols are the only team with two finalists among the four players.

Ziegler, a third-team All-American, was the SEC’s defensive player of the year for a second consecutive season and the first player in history to be named to the league’s all-defensive team four times.

The point guard broke the program’s all-time assists record after recording a double-double with 12 points and 12 assists without a turnover in Tennessee’s 77-62 win over Wofford in the opening round.

Cronin said he saw plenty of Mashack as a high school recruit at Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Etiwanda, where he was high school teammates with former Bruins guard and 2023 Naismith defensive player of the year Jaylen Clark.

“Number one, they care. They understand that you can impact a game on the defensive end of the court,” Cronin said of the duo. “And, secondly, they're tremendous guarding the ball and they take a lot of pride in it. That takes toughness combined with their athleticism.”

Cronin added that he would’ve tried to sign Mashack in the 2021 recruiting cycle but had just one scholarship that went to Peyton Watson.

“His high school team literally had the two best defensive players I've ever seen on a high school team in Jaylen Clark and Mashack,” Cronin said. “So it's a mindset and a toughness that you're born with.”

If UCLA is able to get the ball inside, Cronin continued, then it has to contend with Vols forward Felix Okpara. The 6-foot-11 junior is averaging 1.7 blocks per game.

Cronin told his team that “everything will be hard” and getting the ball smoothly past halfcourt and into its offensive sets will be a challenge.

Disrupting Tennessee’s offense will be equally challenging, Cronin said. Add it all up and it’s a team that “don’t beat themselves.”

“Catching the ball will be hard, passing the ball will be hard,” Cronin said. “You have to do everything with strength and conviction or you'll be running your offense at halfcourt.

“Coach (Rick) Barnes is a great coach, they got a great four-year starter at the point, numerous veterans.

“The reason they're hard to prepare for is it's hard to simulate their intensity. You can run through your offense and it's easy, until you gotta try to run your offense against a team with two of the best. … I've been doing this a long time. Your defense gets better when you have two of the best defenders in the country.”

The Bruins will counter with a backcourt that has been inconsistent offensively all season, but shined against the Aggies.

Point guard Dylan Andrews had eight assists to just one turnover and combo guard Skyy Clark tied the team high with 14 points.

UCLA made 10 3-pointers, including four from Clark.

In the post, reserve center Aday Mara was dominant on both ends in 20 minutes. The 7-foot-3 sophomore finished with 10 points, six rebounds, five blocks and two assists.

Barnes said he sees an “extremely sound, fundamental team” in the Bruins.

“Mick's teams always defend,” Barnes said. “Very good ball-pressure team, very active in the gaps, really good hands.

“They know how they want to play. Really good, balanced inside-out game. They know who they are, they know what they're looking for.”

After defeating Utah State, Cronin said Mara played despite battling a sinus infection in the days leading up to the game and fellow reserve Sebastian Mack tweaked his groin. Mara also briefly left the game after turning his left ankle early in the second half before returning and finishing out the contest.

Both players told the Los Angeles Times they expect to be available.