Northwestern will be assessed two forfeits for not playing January road games at No. 2 UCLA and No. 4 USC, the Big Ten announced Wednesday.
Northwestern said Jan. 10 it would not to travel to play UCLA on Jan. 12 and USC on Jan. 15 because of concerns over wildfires in the Los Angeles area. UCLA had offered to play at an off-campus location.
The Bruins (26-1, 15-1) and Trojans (25-2, 16-1) each have been credited with a conference win and the Wildcats (9-17, 2-15) were assessed two losses.
The forfeits further imperil Northwestern’s chances of qualifying for the 15-team Big Ten Tournament next week in Indianapolis. The Wildcats are tied with Rutgers for 16th, a half-game behind Purdue.
Northwestern holds the tiebreaker over Rutgers because of its win over the Scarlet Knights on Feb. 17. Purdue holds the tiebreaker over Northwestern because of its win Feb. 12.
The Wildcats play Nebraska at home Sunday in their final regular-season game.
UCLA moved its Jan. 15 game against Penn State to Long Beach State’s arena because of the fires. USC did not move any home games.
