GAME NOTES: The Auburn Tigers and the Oregon State Beavers meet in the consolation round of the MGM Grand Main Event at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Wednesday evening.

Auburn was stifled by Tulsa in Monday's semifinals, scoring only two points over the final 10:39 of a 43-35 defeat. The loss was the second in four games for the Tigers, who have wins over Milwaukee (83-73) and Louisiana (105-80) on the ledger, as well as a 90-59 setback at Colorado. They host Texas Tech in their next outing.

Oregon State fell for the first time this season on Monday night, taking a 66-53 loss at the hands of Oklahoma State. The Beavers had racked up home victories against Rice (67-54), Corban (86-62) and Oral Roberts (55-42) in the first three games of the season. They return home to host Mississippi Valley State next.

This bout marks the first meeting between these two schools on the hardwood.

Auburn couldn't seem to buy a basket against Tulsa, knocking down a meager 31.3 percent of their shots from the floor overall, while finding the bottom of the net only twice in 22 tries from 3-point range. The Tigers also turned the ball over 23 times. Cinmeon Bowers produced 17 points and 15 rebounds in the loss.

While the offensive showing was miserable, at the very least the Tigers showed some defensive strength against Tulsa. They are still allowing a 52.4 percent success rate to opponents, but they did improve on that mark against the Golden Hurricane, surrendering a 46.5 percent shooting effort. Bowers (16.5 ppg, 14.2 rpg) has been an absolute monster on the interior, with a double- double in every game this season. K.T. Harrell (16.5 ppg) is normally able to lend scoring support, but he was held to just two points on 1-of-7 shooting against Tulsa.

Oregon State had its own issues on offense on Monday, connecting on just 33.3 percent of their shots against Oklahoma State. They also failed to take advantage of their chances at the free-throw line, sinking 19-of-27 foul shots. Victor Robbins came off the bench to score 16 points, Langston Morris- Walker had 13 and Gary Payton II netted 10.

None of Oregon State's outings have featured particularly strong offensive showings, either from the Beavers or their opponents. Oregon State is scoring just 65.3 points per game, despite shooting at a 47 percent clip. On the other side, the Beavers' opponents are managing only 56 points per game on 34.8 percent shooting. Morris-Walker (12 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and Payton (10.5 ppg, 6.8 rpg) are the only double-digit scorers on the roster.

There is a clear blueprint for how Auburn can win this game. If Bowers continues to dominate inside and get support from his teammates, the Tigers will have the edge.