Late blitz allows Hokies to advance past first round

	#5 Virginia Tech #12 Illinois 54 52   Box Score Recap All Scores
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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A jubilant Seth Greenberg walked over to press row, slapped hands with Virginia Tech's radio announcers and shouted, "How'd we do that?" The rest of Nationwide Arena was wondering the same thing.

The fifth-seed Hokies trailed No. 12 seed Illinois for nearly their entire first-round game here Friday, including 52-42 with just 4:27 left. They made just 7-of-24 field goals in the first half, shot just 35.7 percent for the game, got outrebounded 37-22 and, for about 37 minutes, looked in no way like a team that could have gone 10-6 in the ACC and beaten North Carolina twice. In the final, frantic minutes, they could barely hit a free throw.

But when the final gun sounded, Virginia Tech had somehow emerged the victor, 54-52, staving off what would have been the tourney's biggest upset (at least in terms of seeds) to date.

"We were supposed to lose that game," senior guard Jamon Gordon conceded afterward. "Illinois did everything right. But the last five minutes, we finally started to click."

Those last five minutes happened to coincide with a desperation strategic move by Greenberg to switch to a full-court press -- not something his team employs often. Having seen its usual up-tempo offense completely stymied by Illinois' more laborious style, Greenberg was looking for something -- anything -- to speed up the game. "I always thought we had a chance to make a run, but we'd miss a lay-up or a free throw," said the coach. "We had to find a way to get them to play a little faster."

The ploy didn't necessarily achieve that goal, but it did result in something else: Illinois started coughing up the ball. Starting when Tech went to the press with 6:21 to go, the Illini committed three turnovers in a little over two minutes, two of them on steals by Gordon (who finished with seven steals). "We didn't take care of the ball in the last four minutes," said Illinois guard Calvin Brock. "We panicked when all we had to do was take care of the ball and slow the game down."

Meanwhile, Tech's Deron Washington, known more as a slasher, started taking advantage of open looks on the outside, knocking down 3-pointers to cut the lead to 52-45 and, moments later, 52-50.

Finally, with 46 seconds remaining, Washington banked in a mid-range jumper to put Tech up for the first time since early in the game, 53-52. The Illini had numerous opportunities in the final seconds to reclaim the lead but missed all three shot attempts, and Brian Randle missed the front end of a one-on-one with four seconds left resulting in a scrum that ended in a game-sealing jump ball.

It was as ugly a tournament game as you'll find -- but the Hokies will take it.

PLAYER WHO IMPRESSED ME

Zabian Dowdell is the Hokies' big-time scorer (though he struggled mightily against the Illini's defense) and Washington is the lord of YouTube with his acrobatic dunks. But the guy who truly makes Virginia Tech tick is its point guard, Gordon, who notched 10 points, seven assists and a staggering seven steals against the Illini. His defensive intensity as well as his ability to get to the basket were instrumental in Tech's last-minute comeback. "Jamon Gordon down the stretch did a really nice job," said Greenberg.

Gordon was at a loss to explain his steals binge afterward, only that Dowdell provided some inspiration. "I didn't want my career to end in a blowout. I figured I should at least try to make it close, be able to say I went out on a better note," said Gordon. "Zabian told me to step up and be more aggressive, so I started getting more aggressive and I came up with some steals."

COURTSIDE CONFIDENTIAL

Greenberg received congratulatory hugs afterward from two of his daughters, each of whom was wearing a Virginia Tech NCAA tournament T-shirt with the word "Advance" on the back. In the Hokies' locker room afterward, there was only one word written on the dry-erase board: "Advance." ... Tech reserve Markus Sailes played just seven minutes but deserves major credit for the victory. Why? He was the one who urged Greenberg to switch to a press. "Me and a couple of the other players were saying the whole second half we should give it a try," said Sailes. "So finally, he gave it a try." ... Washington says he did not call "bank" on his game-winning jumper but was all smiles about the shot afterward. Teammate Gordon had a different reaction: "That last [shot] was luck," said Gordon. "I don't care what he says."

BIG PICTURE

Give the Hokies credit for pulling out the victory, but this is not a team built for a deep tourney run. Seeing how easily Illinois' half-court defense frazzled them and watching them struggle so mightily against an opponent that was fortunate to even make the tournament, it's easy to see why Virginia Tech, for all its achievements this season, still managed to lose three times to NIT team N.C. State and hasn't won more than two games in a row since January.

"We don't shoot the straightest, we make easy things difficult, but we just keep going," said Greenberg. "We're like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. We're right on the edge, but we manage to stay together. It's an interesting dynamic." Interesting, but a little too risky a recipe for reaching the Final Four.