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UCLA in discussions with San Diego State to hold a multiteam event

UCLA head coach Mick Cronin reacts during an NCAA college basketball game against Arizona State Thursday, Feb. 27, 2020, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu)
UCLA coach Mick Cronin and the Bruins still have holes in their schedule for the upcoming season. (Ringo H.W. Chiu / Associated Press)

UCLA has entered discussions with San Diego State to hold a multiteam event in late November at the Aztecs’ home arena that would serve as the Bruins’ season opener, The Times has learned. UCLA hopes to have the arrangement finalized this week.

The makeup games became necessary for the Bruins after ESPN announced that it was canceling the Wooden Legacy at its Wide World of Sports property in Orlando, Fla.

The Bruins were scheduled to open the season in that four-team event Nov. 25 and play two games in as many days as part of a field that was also expected to include Seton Hall, Kansas and Boise State.

ESPN said in a statement that it was canceling the Wooden Legacy and seven other events at its complex in Orlando because of “certain challenges surrounding testing protocols.”

UCLA now must add two more games to a nonconference schedule that’s expected to include home games against San Diego, Marquette, Long Beach State and one other unannounced opponent and a neutral-site game against Kentucky in the CBS Sports Classic.

Before the cancellation of the Wooden Legacy, Bruins coach Mick Cronin said he had been courting other West Coast teams for the final nonconference home game.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.