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GAME NOTES: A couple of Missouri Valley Conference program tied for third place in the standings hit the hardwood at Qwest Center Omaha this afternoon, as the Creighton Bluejays entertain the Illinois State Redbirds.

On the road for their second straight game, the Redbirds are shooting for their third consecutive win and the fourth in the last five games overall when they take the floor today. On Tuesday night, the team dismissed the Bradley Braves for the second time in less than two weeks with a narrow 62-61 triumph on the road.

As for the Bluejays, they too were in action earlier this week and also landed in the win column, thanks to a 65-52 rout of Indiana State in this very building. Not only was it the second win in the last three games for Creighton, it was also the 11th in 12 home decisions on the season.

With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, Illinois State is currently leading by a 39-24 count, thanks in part to a 71-62 win in the first meeting of the season last month in Normal, Illinois.

The Redbirds trailed by as many as 14 points in the first half and 10 at the break versus Bradley, but Illinois State refused to back down and when it counted most the visitors responded with the one-point win. Austin Hill came off the bench to record 14 points, Jackie Carmichael 12 and seven boards in a reserve role, while Dinma Odiakosa registered a double-double with 12 points and 15 rebounds as the lone double-digit scorer among the starters. Osiris Eldridge again had a tough time shooting the ball at just 3-of-12 from the floor. Even though he has had a couple of rough outings of late, Eldridge is still the top scorer for the program with his 15.8 ppg, followed by Odiakosa with 12.4 ppg and 8.6 rpg, but the latter is shooting only 58.1 percent at the free-throw line which makes him a liability when it comes to crunch time in close contests. Nevertheless, his presence in the paint is key to ISU beating opponents on the glass by almost five rebounds per game on average.

After moving out to a 10-3 advantage early in the first half, the Bluejays dialed up the defense and eventually held the visiting Sycamores to a mere 37.2 percent shooting from the field in the 13-point home win. Kenny Lawson turned up as the lone double-digit scorer for Creighton with his game-high 17 points, adding a game-high 10 rebounds as well in just 28 minutes of action. Also of note, Ethan Wragge came in off the bench to sink 3-of-6 shots behind the three-point line to finish with nine points, which means he has now set a new freshman record by hitting at least one three pointer in 12 consecutive games. Lawson remains the lone double-digit scorer on the season for the Jays with his 12.4 ppg, not to mention accounting for a team-high 6.6 rpg along the way as well. Wragge (6.5 ppg) gives the squad a presence on the perimeter where he has made 41.9 percent of his attempts, but as a group Creighton is only 32.8 percent successful out there.

Unless there is something seriously wrong with him, Eldridge can't possibly throw together three poor outings in a row, so with that expect to see Illinois State pull out the road win today.