Hokies earn rematch today with top-seed UNC

ATLANTA -- Tech seeks 'different ending' vs. No. 1 UNC in quarterfinals

Before the most important game of their season, a game that could have sustained or deflated their NCAA tournament dreams, Virginia Tech's players somehow buried those weighty implications in the recesses of their brains.

Instead of letting the anxiety and enormity of their tournament chase consume them, as it had in recent games, they narrowed their focus on the microscopic keys to beating Miami.

Guards Dorenzo Hudson and Malcolm Delaney remembered to avoid biting on Jack McClinton's shot fake. Forward Jeff Allen concentrated on establishing strong position in the post against Dwayne Collins. Coach Seth Greenberg, tightly wound by nature, urged his players before they left the locker room to just relax.

"Enjoy the moment," he told them.

They enjoyed every bit of it: their rabid defense, their 13-rebound advantage and the lopsided result it produced yesterday at the Georgia Dome -- a 65-47 victory in the ACC tournament's first round.

Their reward is a noon game in today's quarterfinals against No. 1 seed North Carolina, the nation's top-ranked team. Just like last season, a win over the Tar Heels likely could put the Hokies (18-13) in the NCAAs.

Not that they care to harp on that.

"We're not going into the game thinking about the NCAA tournament at all," Delaney said. "I think that's why we played so well today."

They couldn't stop thinking about the tournament late in the regular season. Heading into their final five games, they bought into the notion that two wins would secure them an at-large bid.

"I think we made it too hard," Delaney said. "We were so busy [thinking], 'We gotta win, we gotta win,' that I think when it came down to it, everybody was stressed with themselves. We were just trying to find ways not to lose the game."

They won one of those final five, so they needed to win yesterday to avoid missing the tournament. Ignoring that urgency, they said they played "freed up" -- an attitude that, strangely enough, resulted in lock-down defense. They held McClinton to a season-low nine points -- 10 fewer than his average. They limited Collins to four -- 19 fewer than he had in the teams' regular-season game.

The Hurricanes didn't have a double-figure scorer for the first time in at least 11 seasons. Their 47 points were their fewest since December 2005 and the fewest Tech has allowed in 87 conference games as an ACC team.

"I thought the second half, that was probably as committed a defensive performance as we've had all year," Greenberg said.

He knows today's game is "a different animal" because Carolina "is the best transition team in America."

But yesterday offered encouraging signs. The Hokies appeared as dominant as they've been all season. The 18-point margin of victory was their second-largest, behind a 22-point blowout of Longwood. Sophomore forward J.T. Thompson -- 12 points and 8 rebounds in 23 minutes -- provided the complementary contributions this team has often lacked.

Better still for the Hokies, Carolina today likely will lack junior point guard Ty Lawson, the ACC player of the year. He has a jammed right big toe. He scored 22 points in Carolina's 86-78 win at Tech nine days ago -- the Hokies' penultimate regular-season game.

Delaney rightly noted that the Tar Heels (27-3) are tough with or without Lawson. Last season, they helped keep the Hokies out of the NCAAs with a 68-66 win in the ACC tournament quarterfinals -- thanks to Tyler Hansbrough's jumper with 0.8 of a second left. The game has "kind of been sticking with us all year," Hudson said.

So after the Hokies beat Miami, Greenberg stood in the locker room, enjoying the moment, and left his players with one more request for today: "Let's try to make it a different ending this time."

MIAMI (18-12)

3-point goals -- Miami (6-23): Thomas 3-6, Asbury 1-2, Hurdle 1-4, McClinton 1-6, Dews 0-5. Va. Tech (4-15): Vassallo 2-8, Hudson 1-2, Delaney 1-3, Allen 0-1, Panneton 0-1.

Turnovers -- Miami (15): McClinton 7, Thomas 4, Collins 3, McGowan. Va. Tech (17): Vassallo 5, Thompson 3, Delaney 3, Hudson 2, Diakite 2, Allen 2.

Blocked shots -- Miami (1): Graham. Va. Tech (1): Thompson.

Steals -- Miami (9): McClinton 3, Graham 2, Collins 2, Jones, Hurdle. Va. Tech (7): Allen 3, Vassallo 2, Hudson, Delaney.

A -- n/a.