Saturday, March 7th, 5:05 p.m. (et).

FACTS & STATS: Site: Scottrade Center (22,612) -- St. Louis, Missouri. Television: FSN-MW, Local. Home Record: ISU 13-2, Creighton 15-2. Away Record: ISU 7-6, Creighton 8-4. Neutral Record: ISU 3-0, Creighton 3-0. Conference Record: ISU 11-7, Creighton 14-4. Series Record: Illinois State leads, 37-24.

GAME NOTES: The third-seeded Illinois State Redbirds and second-seeded Creighton Bluejays meet for the second time in a week, only there is much more on the line in this evening's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament semifinal matchup at the Scottrade Center. The Redbirds dropped their last three games of the regular season, including a 74-70 setback at Creighton in their finale a week ago, to finish third in the league standings at 11-7. The team was able to put those struggles behind it, as ISU captured a 78-68 win over sixth- seeded Evansville in the quarterfinals on Friday. The win improved the Redbirds to 33-23 all-time in this tourney and left them just one triumph away from their second straight title game appearance. As for Creighton, it won a share of its 14th MVC regular-season crown with a 14-4 finish, but lost out on the tie-breaker with Northern Iowa and therefore earned the second seed. The Jays made their first appearance in the tourney last night and needed a last second bucket to defeat seventh-seeded Wichita State, 63-62, in a thriller. It is the 11th straight win for Creighton, which is making its ninth semifinal appearance in the last 11 seasons. The Jays have won the this event on 10 different occasions, including six times in the last 10 years. Creighton was crushed by ISU, 86-64, in the first meeting of the season before avenging that loss with a home win on February 28th. With the split, the Redbirds now hold a 37-24 advantage in the all-time series with the Jays.

The Redbirds shot a solid 51.8 percent from the floor and made good on 9-of-22 opportunities from long range, as they defeated Evansville on Friday. ISU also held a slight 35-31 edge on the glass and it dished out 15 assists as a team. Champ Oguchi headed the charge with 20 points and five boards, and Lloyd Phillips posted 16 points. Osiris Eldridge also got involved and he finished with 14 points and six rebounds. On the campaign, Oguchi tops the roster in scoring at 14.8 ppg and he is also collecting 6.1 rpg. Eldridge comes in with 13.5 ppg and 6.1 rpg, and Phillips contributes 11.2 ppg.

The Jays blew a 22-point second-half lead, but were saved by Booker Woodfox, who drained a 16-footer at the buzzer to give Creighton a dramatic 63-62 win over Wichita State last night. Woodfox, the MVC Player of the Year, finished the game 7-of-14 from the floor for 17 points. The Jays shot 44.4 percent from the floor and turned 19 Wichita State mishaps into 23 points. On the season, Creighton is forcing opponents into 16.4 turnovers per game and that has helped the team to average a solid 74.4 ppg. Woodfox leads the squad in scoring at 16.0 ppg and he is an elite three-point shooter, hitting on 50.0 percent of his chances. P'Allen Stinnett adds 12.4 ppg and a team-best 47 steals to the lineup, although he had just nine points with seven turnovers on Friday.

Creighton is coming off a dramatic win and that effort certainly took a lot out of the Jays. Expect the Redbirds to jump out quickly and use their variety of scoring options to surprise Creighton this evening.

Predicted Outcome

Illinois State 74, Creighton 67