No. 2 UCLA Granted Surprising Win

No. 2 UCLA women's basketball was granted another win for a game it didn't even play.

Feb 5, 2025; Los Angeles, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach Cori Close during an NCAA basketball game against the Ohio State Buckeyes at Pauley Pavilion presented by Wescom. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

No. 2 UCLA picked up another win before it even takes on Wisconsin on Wednesday.

The Big Ten announced on Wednesday that both UCLA and USC would be granted wins over Northwestern. The Wildcats did not play either team due to the Los Angeles-area wildfires, and instead of being rescheduled, the games have been classified as forfeits for the Wildcats, with two losses going to them and wins going to the Bruins and Trojans.

Below is a statement from Northwestern athletic director Mark Jackson, per Matt Fortuna of The Inside Zone.

“Northwestern Athletics accepts the decision by the Big Ten Conference to strictly apply the Conference bylaws as written, in issuing forfeits for missed competitions by Northwestern’s Women’s Basketball after the team’s decision not to travel to Los Angeles during the tragic wildfires in Southern California. While we acknowledge that bylaws and rules are in place for a reason and we will abide by them, it does not diminish this team’s sound reasoning for not participating during this natural disaster. We will continue to support our Women’s Basketball student-athletes and hope for a strong recovery for the Southern California region.”

Statement from Northwestern AD Mark Jackson:
“Northwestern Athletics accepts the decision by the Big Ten Conference to strictly apply the Conference bylaws as written, in issuing forfeits for missed competitions by Northwestern’s Women’s Basketball after the team’s decision not… https://t.co/Op12bFNieI

— Matt Fortuna (@Matt_Fortuna) February 26, 2025

It's tough news for Northwestern, which is competing for a spot in the Big Ten Tournament. For UCLA and USC, though, frankly, it doesn't affect anything as far as their placement in the conference, as it's just a two-team race for the Big Ten title, which could very well come down to the two teams' season-finale showdown on Saturday.

The ruling does have significant meaning for NCAA Tournament seeding, though, as each team battles for a No. 1 seed -- and not just that, the No. 1 overall seed.

UCLA (27-1, 15-1) still has one more matchup before its meeting with USC (26-2, 16-1), and that will be Wednesday's game against Wisconsin.

The Trojans, meanwhile, don't play again until Saturday's matchup, so they will probably be watching Wednesday's contest closely.

The Big Ten's ruling is an unfortunate one, but without the option of rescheduling, there's not much you can do. With UCLA and USC being on the West Coast, it was probably very difficult to try to reschedule, if there was, in fact, an effort to do so.

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