The MVC Rundown

Creighton also got all five of its starters into double digits in an eleven-point win over Bradley in Peoria.

Nate Funk and Dane Watts each scored 18 to lead all scorers. The Bluejays led by 12 at halftime, stretched their lead to as many as 18, and didn’t let the lead get below nine points.

Bradley’s Daniel Ruffin’s long two-pointer got Bradley to within that nine-point deficit with about four minutes left, but Creighton’s Nick Porter dispelled any hopes of a comeback by hitting a three-pointer a minute later to increase the lead back to 12.

The Bears overcame a 16-point second half deficit in Des Moines and walked away a winner in overtime, 87-82 over Drake.

All five Missouri St. starters scored in double figures, led by Tyler Chaney’s 20.

Drake’s Klayton Korver’s three free throws at the 13-minute mark gave Drake a 59-43 lead. The Bears ended the remainder of the half on a 31-15 run to force overtime.

Drake led 80-79 with 1:30 left in overtime, but Missouri St. scored 7 straight points to take control of the game.

Winthrop at Missouri St.

What a way to kick off the weekend.

Even if WInthrop has had to work around injuries — only two of its top eight scorers have played in all 21 games — the Eagles are hungry for any win they can get outside of the atrocious Big South.

And Missouri St. needs the win almost as badly, considering the recent stretch the Bears endured in January when they lost four out of five.

Southern Illinois at Butler

Not a lot at stake in this one, as both teams are probably going to make the NCAA tourney one way or another.

A little late, but here’s a look at Saturday’s action.

Creighton 71 Indiana St. 55

The Bluejays won this one solely on their offensive rebounding, pulling down 15 while Indiana St. only managed six. Nate Funk continues to make his case as the league POY, scoring 20 points and seven rebounds. Four Jays hit double figures in points.

Southern Illinois 73 Illinois St. 62

Trailing by six at half, the Salukis bombarded the Redbirds by shooting 64 percent in the second half.

Tony Young and Jamaal Tatum combined for 9-of-14 on three-pointers. Tatum led all scorers with 22 points.

Just a little over a month ago, Wichita St. looked good. No, make that really good.

Then they went to Las Vegas, dropped two games in two days, and seemingly haven’t been the same since. From a record of 9-0, the Shockers are now just 12-8 (4-6 in MVC play) heading into Saturday’s game at Evansville.

On January 9, Missouri St. looked like the best team in the Valley. The Bears smoked Evansville by 50, one of the most efficient games in the country this season.

Creighton’s trip to Springfield to take on Missouri St. is the highlight of Wednesday’s Valley action.

Wichita St. and Bradley are both heavy favorites at home as they take on Drake and Illinois St., respectively.

Meanwhile, a suddenly hot Evansville team makes the short trip to Terre Haute to take on Indiana St. in a game that should be pretty intriguing, but isn’t the big ticket game that’s taking place in Missouri.

PREDICTIONS:

Wichita St. 78 Drake 65 — The Shockers get back on track at home.

After hitting the game-winning shot at Creighton Saturday, Bryan Mullins stayed hot Tuesday night.

Mullins scored 16 points as Southern Illinois erased a halftime deficit and held off Northern Iowa on the last possession of the game to win 56-54.

The Panthers lost thanks to a whopping 23 turnovers and surrendered 14 offensive rebounds to the Salukis.

With those two factors in mind, it’s easier to understand how UNI lost while shooting 50 percent from the field and hitting 11-of-15 three-point attempts.

Northern Iowa currently sits atop the Valley with a 6-2 record, but Southern Illinois can bring the Panthers back to the pack as the Salukis host UNI tonight at 8:05 p.m.

Having seen both teams play in the last week, the key will be Randal Falker’s peformance against the Panthers’ formidable front line of Grant Stout and Eric Coleman.

After a 75-68 loss at Evansville last Wednesday in which Falker picked up two early fouls and was hardly noticeable on the court, SIU coach Chris Lowery said Falker “wasn’t ready to play.”

It was ugly, frustrating, and in the end beautiful Saturday night in Omaha.

Ugly were the fouls, frustrated was Creighton, and beautiful was the game-winning shot in the final seconds.

Bryan Mullins hit a bank-shot in the lane with 4.1 seconds left to give the Salukis a 58-57 lead, and Nate Funk’s desperation three at the buzzer rattled out as SIU beat Creighton in front of a raucous crowd of 17,459 — the largest in the state of Nebraska history — at the Qwest Center.

After the game, a teary-eyed Anthony Tolliver called it perhaps the most difficult loss of his career.

Like Evansville began the game against Southern Illinois, Creighton opened with a 2-3 zone on defense against the Salukis.

Unlike their performance at Evansville, SIU hit five of its first six three-pointers.

Creighton didn’t make a field goal until the 14:15 mark, and only had two field goals until the 7:20 mark. For the half, the Bluejays shot 28.6 percent from the floor.

Each team had a scoring drought of at least six minutes in the half.

The Salukis hold a 28-23 lead at halftime despite getting only limited minutes from Jamaal Tatum and Tony Young, who each picked up their second fouls in the first seven minutes.