COVID-19 Cancellations Continue for UCLA Men’s, Women’s Basketball
Neither Bruin team will be taking the court for at least the next week.
No. 4 UCLA men's basketball (8-1, 2-0 Pac-12) canceled its Dec. 22 game versus Cal Poly at noon on Saturday due to continued COVID-19 issues within the program. UCLA women's basketball (5-3) made a similar announcement at the same exact time, calling off its games versus Ohio State and Cal State Bakersfield on Dec. 19 and Dec. 21, respectively.
The programs have both paused all team activities and the statuses of games further in the future are yet to be determined.
The men's team's game against the Mustangs has been full-on canceled, while the women's teams's matchups with the Buckeyes and Roadrunners were labeled as not being played as scheduled. None of the three affected games were against conference opponents, so it is unlikely any would result in a forfeit for the Bruins.
While there were several games affected by COVID-19 for each team last season, none of the postponements or cancelations were due to positive tests on the UCLA end. The men's squad had games postponed and canceled as a result of health and safety protocols from Long Beach State, Oregon and Pac-12 referees, while the women's team was not at fault for any of the seven moved games last year.
A month into the newest campaign, the same cannot be said anymore.
The COVID-19 issues began for the Bruins when coach Mick Cronin entered COVID-19 protocols Wednesday afternoon, just hours before UCLA men's basketball was supposed to host Alabama State. Initially, the game was to be played as scheduled with associate head coach Darren Savino stepping up for Cronin, but an hour before the 8 p.m. tip-off, the matchup was shut down.
The Bruins were also supposed to play North Carolina as part of the CBS Sports Classic on Saturday, but that was canceled early Friday morning. Now, with the Cal Poly game getting axed as well, UCLA will miss at least three games in a row leading up to the start of conference play at the end of the month.
Single-game tickets purchased for Wednesday's game will be automatically refunded, UCLA Athletics announced. Season ticket holders, on the other hand, will automatically receive credit for the cost of the game in their school ticketing accounts.
UCLA had a game scheduled for Dec. 5 canceled because of COVID-19 issues within the Washington program, and the Huskies ultimately forfeited that matchup after the sides were unable to find a mutually agreeable makeup date. As a result, the Bruins will go from Dec. 2 to at least Dec. 29 having played one game – a road contest against Marquette on Dec. 11.
UCLA women's basketball had its COVID-19 issues start the day after the men's team, with its game against Texas Southern called off a few hours prior to the opening tip Thursday night.
The two teams share the Mo Ostin Center for practices, dining, meetings, weight lifting and general training. It is undetermined whether the protocols affecting the teams stem from the same inciting incident, but following Cronin's media availability Tuesday morning, he was seen conversing with a member of the women's team, one day before he entered protocols.
The vaccination status of each roster has not been disclosed by UCLA Athletics, but as employees of the state of California, both coaching staffs are required to be vaccinated. UCLA required all students who came on campus for the fall to be vaccinated or submit an opt-out waiver.
With the new adjustments to the schedule, UCLA men's basketball's next game will be Dec. 30 versus Arizona at Pauley Pavilion, while UCLA women's basketball is currently set to resume play on Dec. 28 versus USC also at Pauley Pavilion.
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