WICHITA, Kan. - Led by Kenyon Giles' game-high 27 points, No. 2 Wichita State rolled to a convincing 81-68 win over No. 3 Tulsa in the American Conference semifinals Saturday night at Legacy Arena.

Wichita State (22-10) advances to Sunday's title game where the top seed South Florida Bulls await. Tip is set for 2:15 p.m. on ESPN.

This will be Wichita State's first championship game appearance in the American. Wichita State's last conference tournament championship game appearance came in 2017, its final season in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Wichita State and South Florida split the regular season series with the road team winning each game.

Giles notched his 17th 20-point game of the season behind his 27 points on 7-of-16 shooting from beyond the arc. His seven made three-pointers set a new conference tournament game school record, besting Conner Frankamp's mark of six.

Will Berg added his ninth double-double with 13 points and 14 rebounds, while dishing out four assists. Michael Gray Jr. broke out of a slump with huge all-around performance. He scored 13 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished six assists. TJ Williams and Karon Boyd chipped in 13 and 12 points, respectively.

Wichita State once again controlled the glass, outrebounding the Golden Hurricane by eight. The Shockers extend their nation-leading streak of games with 10 or more offensive rebounds to 26.

Behind Giles' seven three-pointers and four from Boyd, Wichita State cashed in 12 on the night, its most since Jan. 18 at South Florida.

Tulsa struck first when Tyler Behrend scored on a second-chance layup less than a minute into the game, but Wichita State quickly answered. Boyd buried a three-pointer on the next possession to give the Shockers their first lead, and Giles followed with a triple of his own to push Wichita State in front early.

The early minutes featured several lead changes. Tylen Riley knocked down a three-pointer at the 16:13 mark to briefly put Tulsa ahead 9-6, but Wichita State responded with a steady stretch of inside scoring from Berg and Williams. Williams converted an and-one layup and added a putback moments later to help spark a 9-0 Shocker run, giving Wichita State a 15-9 advantage midway through the period. The bench duo of Berg and Williams scored nine of Wichita State's first 17 points.

Tulsa battled back behind perimeter shooting from Ade Popoola and Riley. Popoola's transition three-pointer tied the game at 19 with 8:51 remaining in the half.

The Shockers regained control thanks to Giles, who connected on three first-half three-pointers. His deep shot with 7:00 remaining gave Wichita State a 24-21 edge, and another triple at the 5:07 mark stretched the margin to five.

Late in the half, Wichita State leaned on its frontcourt. Berg powered home a dunk with 51 seconds remaining, and Gray Jr. knocked down a jumper at the buzzer to send the Shockers into the locker room with a 39-33 halftime lead. 

Tulsa made an early push after the break. Behrend opened the half with two free throws, and moments later drilled a three-pointer to cut the Wichita State lead to just one at 39-38.
That was as close as the Golden Hurricane would get.

Giles immediately answered with another three-pointer, and Boyd followed with a deep shot of his own as the Shockers began to create separation. Gray Jr. then joined the barrage, knocking down a three from the wing to extend the lead to 57-43.

The decisive stretch came midway through the half. After Boyd forced a turnover, Giles drilled a transition three-pointer to push the margin to 62-45. Just over a minute later, Giles connected again from beyond the arc, capping the run and giving Wichita State its largest lead of the game at 66-46 with 10:55 remaining.

Tulsa attempted to rally behind Miles Barnstable, who knocked down several late three-pointers to cut the deficit to 10 with just over four minutes remaining. However, Wichita State controlled the glass and continued to find scoring opportunities down the stretch.

Williams delivered a powerful dunk with 1:31 left to push the lead back to 14, and Boyd sealed the victory moments later with a three-pointer following a turnover. Berg added a final dunk in the closing seconds to cap the win.