Onyeka Okongwu named All-Pac-12 first team, Jonah Mathews honored

USC basketball’s Onyeka Okongwu was voted to the All-Pac-12 first team, with Jonah Mathews making the All-Defensive team.

Two members of USC basketball’s 2019-20 team earned mentions in the Pac-12’s end-of-season honors.

Onyeka Okongwu, the outstanding freshman forward, was one of 10 players voted onto the All-Pac-12 first team. He is one of three freshmen to make the cut, along with Arizona’s Zeke Nnaji, who just beat him out for Freshman of the Year, and Washington Isaiah Stewart.

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As you might expect, Okongwu was also named to the All-Freshman team.

Okongwu wowed Trojan fans all season with his exceptional play. In Pac-12 play, he posted six double-doubles. All told, he averaged 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game while shooting 61.6 percent from the field.

The young gun wasn’t the only Trojan to get some love from the Pac-12.

Jonah Mathews, whose heroics on Saturday gave USC a buzzer-beating victory over UCLA, made the All-Pac-12 second team.

The honors for Mathews didn’t end there though. He also made the All-Defensive Team for the Pac-12.

The senior’s final campaign was his best. He averaged 13.4 points per game, second on the team, while leading the squad with 1.4 steals per game. His three-point shooting percent of 38.1 was tops among Trojans attempting at least one per game.

Okongwu and Mathews will need to continue their strong campaigns into the postseason. The Trojans get a bye in the first round of the Pac-12 tournament as the No. 4 seed. On Thursday, they’ll face off with the winner of Wednesday’s battle between Arizona and Washington.

Whether they make a run in the Pac-12 tournament, USC is expected to receive a bid to the NCAA Tournament, their first since 2017. That’s due in no small part to Okongwu and Mathews.

Oregon’s Payton Pritchard was named Player of the Year. Tyler Bey received Defensive Player of the Year honors while UCLA’s Chris Smith was Most Improved Player of the Year and ASU’s Alonzo Verge was Sixth Man of the Year. UCLA’s Mick Cronin picked up the John R. Wooden Coach of the Year Award.