LSU is headed west for the second straight season for a neutral site nonconference matchup, it was announced on Monday. The Tigers will have Southern Cal on Sat., Dec. 21 at Staples Center in Los Angeles for the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic presented by Citi, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced in a release.

The Tigers return five of their eight core players that won the program's first Southeastern Conference championship since 2009 last season. Head coach Will Wade also returns to the bench after an over month long suspension and is thrilled to be heading out west as a part of a doubleheader, which also features Utah vs. San Diego.

“We are excited about participating in this year’s Basketball Hall of Fame Classic at the STAPLES Center,” Wade said in the release. “We look forward to bringing our team out West for the second straight season and to our matchup with USC on what will be a great day of college basketball in Los Angeles.”

"We have really enjoyed our association with the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic,” USC coach Andy Enfield said in the release. “This will be our fourth consecutive season competing in the event and it has provided us with a great opportunity to face high-quality opponents and get national exposure for our team early in the season.”

Returning to the team are guards Marshall Graves, Skylar Mays, Javonte Smart and Marlon Taylor along with forwards Darius Days and Emmitt Williams while redshirts Aundre Hyatt and Courtese Cooper hit the floor for the first time as Tigers this fall. 2019 signees James Bishop, Charles Manning and Trendon Watford will enter the mix this year as well. The team has two, potentially three scholarships open, if Graves returns to being a walk-on.

With the returning players and new additions, Wade likes where his team is headed coming off a Sweet 16 run in the 2019 NCAA Tournament. LSU went 28-7 overall and 16-2 in SEC play in 2018-19.

"We've got five of our top eight guys back from a team that went to the NCAA Tournament, went to the Sweet 16, won the SEC championship," Wade said in Destin last week at the SEC's Spring Meetings. "We've added some high-level players. Feel really good about the guys we signed, I feel good about the guys back that know what we're doing. They're experienced."

Tickets for the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic will go on-sale to the general public on June 6 at noon CT via AXS.com, by phone at 888-929-7849 and the STAPLES Center box office. Citi is the official presale credit card of the Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. As such, Citi card members will have access to purchase presale tickets on June 4 and 5.

Game times and television broadcast information will be released at a later date.