UCLA will put the nation’s longest home winning streak on the line this week when Stanford and Cal head south for a visit.

The fourth-ranked Bruins (21-4, 12-2 Pac-12) have won 21 straight games at home. Coach Mick Cronin told reports on Tuesday he doesn’t care about the pomp surrounding such a statement, but he does care deeply about his group’s ability to defend home court.

“You know, good teams win at home. So, you get good players. We’ve got good players that care,” Cronin said. “Bill Self’s been great at Kansas for a long time because look at his home record.”

Self is 304-17 all-time in Allen Fieldhouse. He has nearly as many Big 12 championships (16) as he does home losses in 20 seasons with the program.

“There was a time I was a young coach who studied guys who built programs. In college basketball, you have to win at home or you’re not going to build what you want to build,” Cronin said. “You have to find a way to do it. If you think you’re going to go out and make NCAA tournaments by going undefeated on the road, you’re in trouble.”

And Cronin says the fact UCLA has been so good at Pauley Pavilion is a product of the men in the locker room.

“Our guys on our team have been extremely loyal to the school, to the program, especially and obviously the older guys on our team. That gives you a chance to build something,” he said. “All you’ve got to do is turn on the TV, most teams are constructed with multiple transfers. This team’s special. We don’t have one because we didn’t need one because our guys didn’t transfer. Our guys didn’t go to free agency and the open market and all that type of stuff that goes on today. And you have a rare guy like Jaime Jaquez who values the college experience and wants to have a pro career. He doesn’t wanna just get NBA socks. That’s my terminology for, you know, you get the socks, you get in the Summer League, and then you play in the G League. But you get the socks.

“So a very mature guy, but he really values going to UCLA, the opportunity. There was a time where everybody was like Jaime. Going to a prestigious university with a great basketball program was an honor, and everybody looked at it that way. Now it’s a vehicle to get to the pros, and that’s just how it is. It’s OK. But we reaped the benefits of Jaime, Tyger (Campbell), Dave (Singleton), Kenneth (Nwuba), Jaylen Clark, even Russ (Stong) helps us.

“We did a pretty good job at Cincinnati, Darren and I and all the kids there. There was a time when we won probably 43 in a row. So it’s just a byproduct of having a consistent, really good program, but you’re not going to have that without players, so that’s why I talk about the players because in this day and age, loyalty is pretty much a thing of the past. And we’re fortunate to have some great kids.”

The Bruins and Stanford Cardinal face off Thursday at 8 p.m. PT on ESPN2.