Wichita State beats Southern Illinois 56-45, advances to Missouri Valley semifinals
Top-seeded Wichita State needed more time and energy than expected to advance to the semifinals of the Missouri Valley Conference men’s basketball tournament.
The Shockers defeated ninth-seeded Southern Illinois 56-45 on Friday at Scottrade Center in a sluggish game they didn’t take control of until the final 7 minutes.
“We came out a little flat and we just needed to find energy,” Shockers junior Evan Wessel. “New arena. We hadn’t played in awhile. Stuff like that. No excuse for that. We’ve just got to find ourselves and play like we want to play.”
Wichita State, 28-3, plays Saturday against fourth-seeded Illinois State, which advanced by defeating fifth-seeded Evansville 71-67. The Shockers are in the semis for the sixth straight season.
The Shockers forced 18 turnovers and held SIU to 16 baskets on 34-percent shooting. Wichita State scored 17 points off Southern Illinois turnovers and committed eight turnovers itself.
Wichita State guard Fred VanVleet scored 13 points, and Tekele Cotton added 12. The Shockers outscored Southern Illinois 30-16 in the lane.
Jalen Pendleton led the Salukis with 12 points. Anthony Beane, after making three of his first four shots, finished four of 14 and scored 10 points.
Southern Illinois cut Wichita State’s lead to 39-33 in the second half before the Shockers pulled away and quieted fans from other schools who started to root for the underdog Salukis. But Cotton drove baseline for a reverse layup and a 41-33 lead that started Wichita State’s clinching run.
Missouri Valley men’s tournament schedule
Thursday’s opening-round games
(9) Southern Illinois 55, (8) Missouri State 48
(10) Bradley 52, (7) Drake 50, OT
Friday’s quarterfinals
(1) Wichita State 56, (9) Southern Illinois 45
(4) Illinois State 71, (5) Evansville 67
(2) Northern Iowa 71, (10) Bradley 46
(6) Loyola 81, (3) Indiana State 53
Saturday’s semifinals
(1) Wichita State vs. (4) Illinois State, 1:35 p.m. (KCWE, Ch. 29)
(2) Northern Iowa vs. (6) Loyola, 4:05 p.m. (KCWE, Ch. 29)
Sunday’s championship
Semifinal winners, 1:05 p.m. (CBS, Ch. 5)
This story was originally published March 6, 2015 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Wichita State beats Southern Illinois 56-45, advances to Missouri Valley semifinals."