MBK: Cougs will face Arizona State, USC in early December

The Pac-12 Conference announced on Tuesday a new 10-year annual rotation of men's basketball conference opponents to begin with the 2021-22 season.

With the unveiling of the new rotation, the league also revealed the home-away matchups and dates for early Conference games as part of the league’s 20-game schedule for 2021-22.

Washington State will travel to Arizona State on Dec. 1 and host USC on Dec. 4 in Pullman.

Ten of the 12 early Conference games will take place during a four-day span around the 2021 Pac-12 Football Championship Game on Friday, Dec. 3.

Further 2021-22 league schedule details will be announced at later dates.

The annual schedule rotation ensures balance and equity across the league's 12 programs and venues over the course of the next decade.

The new 10-year rotation will begin for the 2021-22 season and extend through 2030-31, featuring a pair of mirrored five-year segments (2021-22 to 2025-26, 2026-27 to 2030-31) with venues flipped for the early Conference games and single-play opponents.

A prior 10-year rotation was implemented for the 2011-12 season, the league's first after expansion to 12 members, and completed during the recent 2020-21 campaign, the league's inaugural 20-game conference season.

The 2020-21 season saw the Pac-12 land a league-record five teams in the final USA TODAY Coaches poll and finish third in the final KenPom.com conference rankings following a 2021 NCAA Tournament in which four league programs advanced to the Sweet 16, three to the Elite Eight and UCLA reached the Final Four.