ESPN Men's Basketball

ST. LOUIS -- Carl Hall scored 16 points, Malcolm Armstead added 15 and Wichita State advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference tournament final with a 66-51 victory over Illinois State on Saturday.

Hall was 7 of 10 from the floor and added eight rebounds, while Armstead was 5 of 9 and grabbed nine boards, for the No. 2 seed Shockers (26-7), who will play top-seeded Creighton in Sunday's final. The Bluejays beat fifth-seeded Indiana State 64-43 earlier Saturday.

Jackie Carmichael had 22 points for the sixth-seeded Redbirds (18-15), who beat No.3 seed Northern Iowa on Friday but couldn't continue their tournament run. Illinois State shot just 29 percent.

Wichita State opened the game on a 22-6 run before Illinois State scored 16 unanswered to tie it just before halftime. The Shockers took control in the second half, steadily building their lead to double digits and cruising to the victory from there.