Report: Oklahoma State Basketball Playing Grand Canyon in Phoenix

A second neutral site nonconference game has been set for Year 2 of the Steve Lutz era.

Oklahoma State will play Grand Canyon on Dec. 6 at PHX Arena in Phoenix, according to Jon Rothstein last week. PHX Arena, formerly Footprint Center, is the home of the NBA’s Phoenix Suns. The event will also include the Oklahoma Sooners playing Arizona State. The Cowboys and Sooners are set to play a week earlier at Paycom Center.

Grand Canyon has only been playing Division-I basketball since the 2013-14 season, but the Antelopes have developed into an excellent mid-major squad under Bryce Drew. Since Drew, brother of Baylor coach Scott Drew, took over ahead of the 2020-21 season, Grand Canyon has made the NCAA Tournament four times in five seasons. The Antelopes made it to the Second Round in 2024, a year they finished 30-5.

The Antelopes were 26-8 this past season and finished second in the WAC before winning the conference’s tournament.

OSU and Grand Canyon haven’t met in men’s basketball.

Lutz’s team will look quite a bit different in Year 2. As of now, the only returners are going to be Robert Jennings II and Andrija Vukovic. Lutz and his staff have hit the portal hard, bringing in seven. OSU has three traditional freshmen joining the squad in Ryan Crotty, Ben Ahmed and Mekhi Ragland. More recently, the Pokes picked up a commitment from Greek forward Lefteris Mantzoukas, who has been playing professional ball in Europe.

OSU went 17-18 in Lutz’s first season. The Cowboys haven’t reached the NCAA tourney since 2021.