Oklahoma (5-1) at USC (5-1)

After routing a ranked opponent for a fifth consecutive victory, O.J. Mayo and Southern California return to the Galen Center for the first time since a surprising season-opening loss there.

The No. 22 Trojans host Oklahoma in a Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series matchup Thursday night in the first meeting between the teams in nearly 24 years.

Southern California began the season with a shocking 96-81 home loss to Mercer on Nov. 10, wasting a 32-point performance from Mayo in his collegiate debut and dropping out of the Top 25.

USC rebounded by winning its next five games, including three in a row to claim the inaugural Anaheim Classic with Mayo earning MVP honors. The team last won six straight during a nine-game run from Nov. 25-Dec. 23, 2005.

The Trojans punctuated their current surge by beating then-No. 19 Southern Illinois 70-45 on Sunday as coach Tim Floyd used Mayo and sophomore Taj Gibson off the bench. The duo did not sit long, combining for 23 points and 12 rebounds. They are expected to start Thursday.

“O.J. and Taj have gotten a tremendous amount of attention,” Floyd said. “We have a lot of guys who can play. It’s a big deal to players and media who starts. It’s all part of team and these guys get it.

“Our guys had a concerted effort on the defensive end. We created an awful lot of offense off our defense. We’re really proud of that win. We handled their pressure, which is what they’re known for.”

Southern California is holding opponents to an average of 54.0 points since the season-opening loss, while scoring 69.2 per game in that span.

Mayo has been a big part of that offensive production, leading the team with 21.8 points per game and going 19-of-45 (42.2 percent) from 3-point range. He’s also averaging 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists.

Gibson is the Trojans’ top rebounder with 9.3 boards per game and his average of 11.7 points puts him second behind Mayo.

Southern California hopes to continue getting outstanding play from the tandem as it begins a three-game stretch against strong opponents, including a visit from fourth-ranked Kansas on Sunday before facing No. 3 Memphis in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

First, the Trojans hope to even the all-time series with Oklahoma (5-1) at five wins each. The teams have not met since the Sooners won 92-91 on Nov. 25, 1983.

Oklahoma is coming off a long break after two fairly easy wins, which came after a 63-53 loss to Memphis on Nov. 15. The Sooners followed that the next day with a 69-55 win over Gardner-Webb before cruising to a 74-42 victory against Morehead State on Nov. 21 despite committing a season-high 20 turnovers.

“They were doing a couple of things a little different. It’s going to be like that all year,” Sooners freshman Blake Griffin said after getting his third double-double with 16 points and 12 rebounds. “Teams will double-down in the post and you have to kick it out to the guards and let them do their thing.”

The Sooners did just that against Morehead as guard Tony Crocker shot 4-of-7 from the field, with 4-of-6 coming from 3-point range for 14 points. The sophomore is averaging 11.3 points on 56.1 percent shooting.

Griffin leads the team with 15.0 points and 9.2 boards per game, providing a strong frontcourt presence along with senior center Longar Longar, who averages 12.0 points and 7.2 rebounds.

“I still think we are learning,” Sooners coach Jeff Capel said. “But our team understands that our strength is in our post guys, Blake and Longar especially.”