The interior strength of Mississippi matches up with the perimeter prowess of Oklahoma when the soon-to-be Southeastern Conference rivals meet in the finals of the ESPN Events Invitational on Sunday in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.

Save for a late flurry by Stanford against Mississippi in the tournament opener, both the Rebels (6-0) and Sooners (5-1) have had their way in the strong field of eight.

Mississippi has used superior shooting and rebounding to outlast Stanford 72-68 and Siena 74-62 to reach the finals.

The Rebels have hit exactly half their shots in the two wins despite going just 10-for-29 (34.5 percent) on 3-pointers. But their dominant play around the hoop has not only resulted in 48-for-87 accuracy (55.2 percent) on two-point tries but also a 65-53 advantage on the boards.

Amaree Abram has been the big scorer for Mississippi in the tournament with 26 and 19 points, while Jaemyn Brakefield has put up 17 points in each game, making 14 of his 20 shots.

“I’m so excited for Jaemyn,” Rebels coach Kermit Davis said after the Siena win. “You can’t imagine how many hours he’s put in (the) gym since last year. His conditioning is elite. I don’t think I took him out in the second half. He can play all day.”

Conditioning might not be a big factor in the finals as both teams enjoyed an off day on Saturday. Playing a third game in three days could have helped Oklahoma, which has shown off its depth by getting double-figure scoring from four guys in each of its wins.

Like Mississippi, the Sooners have connected at upward of a 50-percent rate from the field in beating Nebraska 69-56 and Seton Hall 77-64. But they’ve done much of the damage from long range, going 19-for-40 from beyond the arc.

Grant Sherfield has been Oklahoma’s top scorer in the tournament with a total of 35 points, going 5-for-10 on 3-pointers. Jacob Groves has made 5 of 9 attempts from beyond the arc.

Sooners coach Porter Moser said the matchup with Seton Hall prepared his guys well for what Mississippi is expected to bring.

“We played really tough,” Moser said after Friday’s win. “Seton Hall is so physical. They are athletic and they keep coming at you. It was a Big 12-level intensity game with how tough you had to be.”

–Field Level Media

Despite its 6-0 start, No. 13 Auburn remains a work in progress on offense.

The Tigers will continue to lean on their defense Sunday when they host high-scoring Saint Louis (5-1).

Auburn coach Bruce Pearl was pleased with his team’s defensive effort during Wednesday’s 43-42 win against an experienced Northwestern squad to claim the Cancun Challenge championship in Mexico.

“To hold Northwestern to 42 points tells you about our effort and our energy, and our defense,” Pearl said. “That’s got to carry us.”

Sooner or later, Pearl’s team will need to be more consistent on the offensive end.

The Tigers shot 56.4 percent from the field (31 of 55), including 47.1 percent from behind the arc (8 of 17), in a dominating 85-64 win over Bradley in the opening round of the Cancun Challenge.

In the hard-fought victory over the Wildcats the following night, Auburn was held to 26 percent shooting from the floor (13 of 50), including 23.8 percent from downtown (5 of 21).

“Our offensive execution leaves a lot to be desired,” Pearl said. “But we showed heart, we showed character, we showed toughness, and we gutted this one out.”

Jaylin Williams has picked up his level of play and is averaging 12.0 points in his last three outings after averaging 4.6 in his first three outings. The rangy Williams is a versatile player who can deliver dimes (2.3 assists per game) and rebounds (5.5 rebounds per game) on a consistent basis.

Wendell Green Jr. is Auburn’s top scorer (12.0 ppg) and assist man (4.2 per game), but he’s also a good rebounder despite his 5-foot-11, 175-pound frame. In the win over the Wildcats, Green grabbed the game-clinching board with a second on the clock to up his career-high total to 10.

Johni Broome (10.4 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.8 blocks) and Chris Moore (5.8 points, 3.3 rebounds) have been steady as starters, but the play of reserves K.D. Johnson (9.8 points), Allen Flanigan (8.5 points, 3.8 rebounds) and rim-protector Dylan Cardwell (5.3 rebounds, 3.2 blocks) has helped Auburn stay undefeated. The Tigers rank 22nd nationally in points off the bench (34.4).

Saint Louis’ only loss of the season came against an undefeated Maryland team in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off on Nov. 19 in Uncasville, Conn.

Gibson Jimerson (14.7 ppg) is the top scorer and an excellent shooter (46.7 percent from 3-point range), but Yuri Collins is arguably the Billikens’ most important player.

In addition to his team-high 34.5 minutes per game, Collins is averaging 12.8 points and is the nation’s leader in assists with 10.7 per game.

“We’ve given him a lot of responsibility,” Saint Louis head coach Travis Ford said. “He wants a lot of responsibility. He deserves it. He needs it.”

Javonte Perkins (13.7 points), Javon Pickett (10.0 points, 7.8 rebounds) and Francis Okoro (8.8 points, 9.7 rebounds) are other standouts for Saint Louis.

–Field Level Media

Cameron Hildreth posted a triple-double and Damari Monsanto scored 20 points as Wake Forest overwhelmed visiting Hampton 97-70 on Saturday afternoon in non-conference action in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Hildreth tallied 14 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists for the Demon Deacons (6-1). Monsanto made six 3-pointers and Tyree Appleby and Andrew Carr both supplied 17 points.

Wake Forest has posted two lopsided wins at home since last weekend’s overtime loss to Loyola Marymount in the Jamaica Classic final. These were tune-ups prior to the team’s first true road game Tuesday at Wisconsin.

Marquis Godwin led Hampton (1-5) with 18 points, with all of his points coming on 6-for-7 shooting from behind the arc. Russell Dean added 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists.

The Pirates, who committed 17 turnovers, made 12 of their 19 baskets from 3-point range.

Wake Forest, which is 5-0 at home, made 15 of 30 3-pointers and shot 54.3 percent overall.

Hildreth was 5 of 9 from the field and 3 of 3 from the free throw line and added two steals.

The margin climbed to 75-38 midway through the second half. Hampton scored 32 of its total points in the last 12 minutes of the game.

It took less than seven minutes for the Demon Deacons to race to a 24-3 lead. Zach Keller, Appleby, Carr and Monsanto all connected on 3-point shots during that opening stretch. Monsanto drained three more 3s in the last seven minutes of the first half.

Four Wake Forest players were in double-figure points by halftime, when the Demon Deacons held a 53-24 lead.

Wake Forest played its second game in a row without starting guard Daivien Williamson, who has been out with a sore back.

The Demon Deacons attempted only seven foul shots in the game. They held a 38-29 rebounding advantage.

–Field Level Media

DeAndre Gholston scored 22 points and Kobe Brown added 19 as Missouri routed Houston Christian 105-69 Saturday in Columbia, Mo.

Noah Carter scored 14 points and D’Moi Hodge added 13 for the Tigers (7-0), who played all 15 players on their roster and got points from 12 of them. They led for all but 30 seconds of the game.

Maks Klanjscek led the Huskies (1-6) with 17 points. Andrew King scored 13 and Tristan Moore added 11.

The Tigers hit 11 of 25 shots from 3-point range and earned 28 assists on their 43 made baskets. They scored 26 points off the fast break and 62 points in the paint.

Missouri got 14 offensive rebounds and scored 13 second-chance points.

The Huskies opened in a 2-3 zone defense hoping to slow the Tigers down. But Missouri raced to a 16-0 lead with Hodge hitting two 3-point jumpers and Brown and Gholston hitting one each.

That forced Houston Christian to switch to a man-to-man defense, which didn’t work either.

The Tigers forced five early turnovers to feed their transition game and pushed their margin to 25-3 less than 7 minutes into the game.

Houston Christian responded with a 17-9 surge fueled by two 3-point jumpers by Moore to cut Missouri’s lead to 34-20.

But Missouri continued playing with tempo with four- and five-guard lineups. Gholston knocked down consecutive 3-point jumpers as the Tigers pulled away to a 54-30 halftime lead.

The Tigers used all 12 of their scholarship players in the first half. They forced 12 turnovers and scored 15 points off them.

Brown scored twice in the lane to fuel Missouri’s 8-0 run early in the second half. That pushed the Tigers’ lead to 64-34 and ended whatever suspense that remained in the game.

–Field Level Media

Jay Heath scored 25 points and Primo Spears added 20 as Georgetown overwhelmed UMBC with defense at the start of the second half in a 79-70 victory on Saturday in Washington, D.C.

Heath made 5 of 6 shots from beyond the arc and Spears connected on 3 of 4 tries from long distance as the Hoyas (4-3) made 50 percent (11 of 22) of their 3-point attempts. Spears added six assists and six rebounds.

Qudus Wahab added 10 points and eight rebounds for Georgetown.

The Hoyas trailed by as many as eight points before the break but took control with a 16-0 run to open the second half.

Using their superior length and quickness in an aggressive man-to-man scheme, the Hoyas forced 13 consecutive misses by the Retrievers to begin the half and grab a 58-42 lead.

UMBC (3-4) was paced by Matteo Picarelli who came off the bench to hit five 3-pointers on his way to 19 points. Colton Lawrence scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half to go along with his eight rebounds.

In the closing minutes, the Retrievers went on a late 14-2 run fueled by a trio of 3-pointers from Picarelli to make it interesting. UMBC sliced the deficit to 73-68, but in the final 27 seconds, Wayne Bristol had a breakaway slam and made two free throws to sew it up.

UMBC opened with the game’s first seven points and held the lead for most of the first half.

When Bryson Mozone made a 3-pointer with 5:03 left in the half, the Hoyas had their first lead of the game, 35-34.

After making five of their first eight 3-point attempts, the Retrievers missed their next eight attempts in the half but still earned a 42-42 tie at the break.

Georgetown held UMBC scoreless for the first 7:20 of the second half and without a field goal for the first 8:21 of the period. The Retrievers made just 24.2 percent of their shots in the second half and finished at 33.8 percent for the game.

Spears and Wahab supplied six points each during the 16-0 run to open the half.

–Field Level Media