(1) Northern Iowa 73, (9) Indiana State 69
No. 1 Northern Iowa escaped with a 73-69 win against No. 9 Indiana State despite trailing by six points with less than 10 minutes remaining. The Panthers used a 15-2 run to pull ahead and protected the lead in the closing moments despite missing several free throws in the final minute. Sophomore guard Kwadzo Ahelegbe and junior forward Adam Koch each scored 19 points to lead Northern Iowa, which likely needs to win the Missouri Valley’s automatic bid to punch a ticket to the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers will play No. 4 Bradley, which Northern Iowa beat twice by a combined eight points in the regular season.
(4) Bradley 67, (5) Southern Illinois 55
The Braves beat No. 5 Southern Illinois 67-55 thanks to solid defense and sophomore guard Sam Maniscalco’s consistent free throw shooting. Bradley held the Salukis to 35 percent shooting, and Maniscalco helped the Braves protect their lead down the stretch as he finished 14-of-14 from the free throw line. He led Bradley with 21 points.
(2) Creighton 63 , (7) Wichita State 62
No. 2 Creighton and No. 7 Wichita State provided the most dramatic game of Championship Week so far. Trailing 49-29 with 13 minutes to go, the Shockers turned up the heat and slowly whittled away Creighton’s 20-point advantage. Freshman guard Touré Murry buried a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining to give Wichita State the lead. That set up the heroics of senior guard Booker Woodfox, who led the Bluejays with 17 points. As time expired, Woodfox nailed a 16-footer to spare Creighton fans a week’s worth of angst leading to Selection Sunday. The Bluejays advance to play Illinois State, which Creighton beat last weekend 74-70.
(3) Illinois State 78, (6) Evansville 68
No. 3 Illinois State slipped past No. 6 Evansville 78-68 to move into the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament. One of the best named players in the country, senior guard Champ Oguchi led the Redbirds with 20 points.
