UCLA Game Scrapped by Huskies' COVID Issues
The University of Washington canceled rather than postponed Sunday's men's basketball game against fifth-ranked UCLA amid COVID-19 issues, dropping the matchup for good because the schools weren't able to reschedule it.
As a result, the Huskies will be required by league policy to forfeit.
This marks the second game in four days that Mike Hopkins' team has failed to play because players and coaches are in virus protocols. The Huskies backed out of last Thursday's Pac-12 opener at Arizona for the same reason, a game that now will be played on Jan. 25
Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Times reported that as many as seven members of the UW program were affected.
The Huskies (4-) and the Bruins (6-1) were scheduled to play a home-and-home series, but with the Alaska Airlines Arena encounter gone for good, they'll be relegated to a lone meeting on Saturday, Feb. 19, at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles.
With these two league games scrapped, the UW won't play again until meeting Gonzaga (6-1) on Sunday, Dec. 12, in Spokane.
It is believed the UW, which has all of its players and coaches vaccinated, encountered the virus while playing in the Crossover Classic in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, prior to Thanksgiving. Three of the four teams involved in the tournament have reported positive tests, including Nevada, which has lost coach Steve Alford for three games.
Had the UCLA-UW matchup been played, it would have overlapped in town with Sunday's NFL game between the Seattle Seahawks and Arizona Cardinals, which kicks off at 1:25 p.m.
Go to si.com/college/washington to read the latest Husky Maven stories as soon as they’re published. Not all stories are posted on the fan sites.
Find Husky Maven on Facebook by searching: Husky Maven/Sports Illustrated
Follow Dan Raley of Husky Maven on Twitter: @DanRaley1 and @HuskyMaven
