STILLWATER – Mike Boynton has added an impressive non-conference game to the 2021-22 slate. Sources confirmed to Pokes Report that Oklahoma State and USC will play a non-conference game in Oklahoma City at the Paycom Center on Dec. 21.
Jon Rothstein was the first to report, and the Oklahoma State athletic department released a statement shortly thereafter.
The matchup between OSU and Southern California will take place in the inaugural Compete 4 Cause doubleheader, which also features a matchup between Tulsa and North Texas.
The series between the Cowboys and Trojans is tied up at five games apiece, with the last game between the two programs taking place in the 2001 NCAA tournament. However, all but two games of the 10-game series took place before 1960.
While the game won’t feature two of the best players in college basketball, Cade Cunningham and Evan Mobley, both taken in the 2021 NBA Draft and No. 1 and No. 3 respectively, this will be one of the top non-conference games of the season for the Pokes.
USC is coming off a 25-8 season in 2020 that included a trip to the Elite Eight in the NCAA tournament. Led by Andy Enfield, the reigning Pac-12 Coach of the Year, the Trojans averaged nearly 75 points a game, outscoring their opponents by nearly 10-points a game.
Boynton and Co. returning a solid lineup from last season, which features breakout star Avery Anderson III, who was second in scoring for the Pokes as he averaged 12.2 points a game. They also return two-time All-Big 12 selection Isaac Likekele, as well as Kalib Boone, Rondel Walker, Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe and Bryce Williams.
In terms of the 2021 class, it featured all transfers, which include former McDonald’s All-American, and 2020 five-star, Kansas guard Bryce Thompson, former Memphis center Moussa Cisse, Texas Tech forward Tyreek Smith and Syracuse wing Woody Newton.
