Arizona men’s basketball’s games at UCLA, USC postponed due to COVID-19 protocols

The Arizona Wildcats will have to wait quite a while before being able to bounce back from their first loss of the season.

The UA’s scheduled games at UCLA (Dec. 30) and USC (Jan. 2) have been postponed due to ongoing COVID-19 issues within the Bruins’ and Trojans’ programs. Both games will be made up at a later date, per the Pac-12’s recently updated COVID cancellation policy, and if either cannot the games will be declared no contests.

Fifth-ranked UCLA (9-1, 1-0 Pac-12) and No. 8 USC (12-0, 2-0) have not played since Dec. 11 and Dec. 18, respectively.

Arizona, which is coming off a 77-73 loss Wednesday at No. 19 Tennessee, is next scheduled to play Jan. 8 at ASU. If no games are added before then the Wildcats will end up going 17 days between competition.

These are the second and third Pac-12 games Arizona has had called off due to COVID issues within their opponents’ programs. The Wildcats’ original conference opener, that was set for Dec. 2 against Washington, is now scheduled for Jan. 24 at McKale Center.