Halftime Report: Wichita State 32, Creighton 30

A lot was mentioned coming into this game how much of a "must win" this is for Wichita State: the need to protect home court, the 2-4 MVC start, a chance to pick up a game on the Valley leaders, etc. So far, the Shockers have been playing like it. Led by the unconscious offensive play of Kyle Wilson with 18 points, the Shockers lead at half, but only by two.

Give a lot of credit to the Jays: they knew how much of a battle this was going to be and so far, they've taken the punches from the Shox and are right here in the game at halftime. It's rather amazing that, with the foul trouble that Tolliver got into with 2 fouls, the increased turnovers that we saw in the first period and the limited offensive output of Nate Funk, that we're right here and toe to toe with WSU.

For the second half, we're going to need to do a far better job of containing Wilson. Both PJ Cousinard and Sean Ogirri were off and in foul trouble in that first half but Wilson has been just killing the Jays so far. By sliding out on the perimeter and doing a good job of exploiting a mismatch by getting a guard isolated on him, he's been able to shoot the lights out and keep Wichita State going. Also, we're going to need to do a far better job of getting it inside to Tolliver and Watts and exploit the advantage we have down low. Tolliver was limited by foul trouble, but late in the game, Watts was shifted over to the five and was effective. We're going to need both to do what we need to win this game.

You can't ask for much more than to have a shot late on the road, and so far the Jays have done a good job of keeping WSU within reach. If we can just pick it up a bit more, we will have our chance.