By Kartik Krishnaiyer

Our good buddy, Kartik Krishnaiyer from miami’s canesrising.com, was nice enough to write an article about his thoughts on the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee and Virginia Tech’s snub. He also participated in an Opposing View column back in February. TechHoops.com would like to thank him for taking the time to do this and offer his kind thoughts. And to show our gratitude, in an unprecedented move, we have left other schools’ names capitalized.

Hokie fans, I feel your pain. Everyone in ACC Country feels your pain. Talking to many around the country in the last 24 hours, those who understand the culture around ACC Basketball agree with me. Those who don’t understand ACC Basketball have little use for my arguments. But here is how I see what I consider a completely unjustified and unconscionable decision by the committee to take essentially mediocre teams like Villanova, Kansas State and Oregon over a battle tested winning ACC team like Virginia Tech.

• The committee needs to watch more basketball

Had any member of the selection committee watched Virginia Tech’s heartbreaking loss at Littlejohn Coliseum to Clemson last Sunday, they no doubt would have decided that the Hokies are not only a tournament team but probably a top eight seed somewhere. The odd call by an official to call a foul with three seconds remaining and put Clemson on the line for two free throws when the Hokies were up one and had shown the grit to make what appeared to be a game winning shot just seconds earlier was inexcusable. Following this heartbreak, Virginia Tech beat Miami, already considered an NCAA lock and team that secured a #7 seed in the tournament. Finally, the Hokies got unlucky not to at least get to overtime against the committee’s favorite team, #1 overall seed North Carolina. How can a team that beat one tournament team and took two other top seeds to the brink in a one week period and who had a winning record in a league which the RPI rated as the toughest in the nation by a wide margin be left out for a team like, say Kansas State or Oregon?

• Road games in the ACC are not equal to road games in other leagues

Much like the SEC in football, the ACC in basketball features home arenas where the passion is greater night in and night out than in any other league in America. The committee’s failure to understand that Virginia Tech’s road games are more hostile than Villanova’s show they have a fundamental misunderstanding of college basketball. Going 9-7 in the ACC is not like going 8-8 in the SEC or Big 12. It’s a whole lot tougher.

As a Miami fan, I recall we had a team that went 15-2 over a two season period on the road in the Big East. (December 1998 thru March 2000) In this period, Miami had exceptional talent, but not overwhelming talent by any stretch of the imagination. But it was fairly easy for a talented team to go into a large, half empty arena in a city center and steal a road game than to a loud partisan arena jam packed with students near the floor. The SEC in basketball resembles the ACC in football. Students come to games and cheer for their team but the passion the ACC has for basketball is lacking in SEC arenas while the passion the SEC has for football is generally lacking in ACC stadiums.

• The NCAA should understand traditional in-state rivalries

Early in his tenure as Miami Head Coach, Leonard Hamilton made the decision to discontinue Miami’s series with Florida, Florida State, and South Florida. Why? Coach Hamilton was of the belief that you don’t schedule games against in-state opponents that could lead to defeats that kill your program’s profile both locally and nationally. As Miami improved, Hamilton gradually got aggressive about placing Kentucky, North Carolina, and Indiana on UM’s schedule, but the in-state teams never returned until Perry Clark was the coach. Virginia Tech had three losses held against them by the committee: two were to in-state rivals Richmond and Old Dominion (both on the road): for this the Hokies should have been congratulated for playing these teams, not punished for losing. Miami was for years unwilling to play these games. More and more schools now follow Hamilton’s example. The committee must realize that losing to an in-state rival from a smaller league is not like losing to a team from a smaller league from another region.

• The NCAA needs to realize that some teams without returning stars need time to gel

Jeff Allen, Deron Washington, and A.D. Vassalo are now all household names in ACC country. But they weren’t in November when the Hokies lost to Penn State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. As the season went on, as was always the case with Seth Greenberg’s teams at South Florida and now at Virginia Tech, the Hokies played better and better. The team game really began to work and as is always the case with Greenberg’s teams the Hokies played great defense. So at season’s end Virginia Tech wasn’t just one of the 65 best teams in the nation, it was probably one of the 30 best. But Arizona’s early season victories with several returning stars were emphasized in picking a team with a losing conference record for the dance, but Virginia Tech’s early struggles with a group of young players was held against them, even though the Hokies finished with a winning record in the nation’s toughest conference. Go figure.

In summary, I feel Virginia Tech’s exclusion from this tournament is one of the gravest at-large oversights by the committee in recent years. For me it is probably the biggest oversight since Vanderbilt was dropped from the bracket in 2000 right before the selection show because Arkansas had surprisingly won the SEC Tournament and the committee needed to make room for them so lazily they dropped a team from the same league. I have no doubt that Seth Greenberg, one of the finest people in the game, will bring Virginia Tech back to the NCAAs next year, but the Hokies ought to be preparing now for a NCAA game, not a NIT one.

With the news that Tech will not be making a return trip to the Big Dance, we are all disappointed right now. Let’s take a look at who got in over VT and why.

• #12 seed villanova (20-12, 9-9 Big East) - nova is the last at-large in the tournament. In fact, they are the only at-large with a #12 seed or lower. The Hokies and the cats have almost identical resumes. nova had one more win, 9 wins in conference play, a big conference tourney win (syracuse), and neighboring RPIs (low 50s). Also, they got screwed by officials in losses to nc state and georgetown, so they have a similar gripe as VT does in their close losses. The difference is nova went 4-7 against RPI Top 50, and this is what gave them the nod over Tech.
• #11 baylor (20-10, 9-7 Big 12) - The Big 12 was #2 in conference RPI. baylor beat three NCAA teams: notre dame, texas a&m, and kansas state. Their RPI was also about 10 spots higher than the Hokies. The bears did lose to a poor colorado team in the Big 12 Tourney, but their body of work was apparently enough. I think you could flip a coin on them or VT.
• #11 kentucky (18-12, 12-4 SEC) - Left for dead back in December, the cats came rolling back with a 12-4 SEC record. But their loss to georgia in the SEC quarterfinals put them back on the bubble and their RPI was close to VT’s. However, they were 4-6 against RPI Top 50 and 8 of their 12 losses were to tourney teams. They also beat #2 seed tennessee. 12 wins in the SEC has to get you in, plain and simple.

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Time will tell, but Coach Greenberg believes that anyone who “does not think that Virginia Tech is not one of the Top 65 teams is certifiably insane”. I agree with him, but unfortunately that doesn’t mean that the Hokies will get in. Here is a look at Tech’s resume: the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, along with some other factors that could impact their selection status.

The Good

• 4th place finish in the ACC, with a winning conference record at 9-7. Only twice in the history of the ACC has a team with a winning record not made the Big Dance: uva in 2000, and fsu in 2006. Both those squads were 9-7, but lost their opening round game in the ACC Tournament. 21 of 23 teams that have gone 9-7 or 8-6 have made the tournament. Therefore, there is a 91% chance that the Hokies will make the dance based on this stat alone.
• A win in the ACC Tournament against miami, who was ranked in the top 30 of the RPI.
• maryland’s bubble burst on Thursday. Tech is the only bubble team from the ACC. There is no other competition.
• Tech is 5-2 in their last 7 games, with their only 2 losses coming at the buzzer against the two teams playing for the ACC Championship. The Hokies are playing their best basketball of the season at the right time and could be a tough test for any opponent in the first round of the Big Dance.
• Even though a loss is a loss, the Hokies’ performance against #1 unc in the ACC semis was viewed very positively by the so-called experts. Dickie V changed his tone after the game. He was calling Tech out of the tourney before the game, and in after it.
• The ACC is the highest RPI-rated conference.
• I doubt this really matters, but I bet Coach Greenberg will be on every sports talk radio and TV show imaginable on Selection Sunday, lobbying for the Hokies. As we all know, he is a media darling and not afraid to speak his mind. Either way, the Hokies will get a lot of good press.

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The wonderful careers of Jamon Gordon, Zabian Dowdell, and Coleman Collins ended today with a 63-48 loss to southern illinois. The Hokies could not overcome the country’s third best scoring defense and 12 three-pointers by the salukis.

The difference maker today was the three point shooting. southern illinois was 12 of 21, and the Hokies were just 2 of 12. A.D. Vassallo could never get on track, as he was 0 for 6 from the field (all behind the arc). He had a fair amount of open looks too, but the string music was not playing tonight. Zabian Dowdell was shut down for the second game in a row. He was only 3 of 9 from the field, and finished with 7 points. The output behind the arc was eerily similar to the 69-56 loss to uva on March 1. The hoos made 10 threes to Tech’s two, and A.D. was only 1 of 8 that night. Jamon Gordon and Deron Washington made the only three-balls today for the Hokies.

The swing point of the game was the last 5 minutes of the first half. After Gordon nailed a three to put the Hokies up 18-15, he was taken out for a quick rest before the TV timeout. The Hokies then went on a scoring drought for 3 and a half minutes, and guess who broke it? Jamon. The salukis, specifically Jamaal Tatum, went on a 13-2 run. Tatum had 3 three pointers during that stretch. The Hokies could not claw their way back into it after that.

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I’ll be updating the site during every TV timeout during today’s game between Tech and the salukis.

Second Half
2:52 so ill 58 VT 44 | Well, they just switched to nevada-memphis. Looks like this in game commentary could be over. Go Hokies!

3:28 so ill 56 VT 43 | Ok, now that last saluki possession was a killer. You got to credit the salukis though. Hell of a defensive team and when they hit their threes, it is very tough to compete.

6:18 so ill 50 VT 38 | That last saluki possession was a killer.

7:50 so ill 47 VT 34 | Collins fouls out. He really got hosed on a couple calls today, which is a shame because he would have been a difference maker. I think this game would be less than 5 points if he were not in foul trouble.

8:02 so ill 47 VT 34 | Can we pull another one out of our a**? 6 of 13 from the line tonight, only 2 threes, but the real stinger is the bank-in free throw and bank-in three pointer by Tatum this half. Reminds me of the second nc state game.

11:29 so ill 41 VT 30 | Ugh … where is our 3 ball? If we lose, what does this say about the ACC this year? Only carolina would be going to the Sweet 16.

15:49 so ill 33 VT 23 | We are in trouble. Collins’ 4th foul killed us. Dowdell, Gordon, and Deron is all we have on the offensive side. Time to throw the laptop into the TV.

Here we go! Go Hokies!

Halftime - so ill 28 VT 20
Well, we are down by 8 again at the half. The salukis closed with a 13-2 run led by the MVC player of the year.

Stats
FG Pct. - so ill 40% (10/25), VT 39% (9/23)
3 pt. FG Pct. - so ill 45% (5/11), VT 25% (2/8)
FT Pct. - so ill 42% (3/7), VT 0% (0/3)
Rebounds - VT 16, so ill 14
Off. Rebounds - so ill 4, VT 2
Turnovers - so ill 4, VT 6
Steals - VT 3, so ill 2
Leading Scorers - so ill Tatum 11, VT Gordon 9
Leading Rebounders - so ill Falker 4, VT Gordon 6
Foul Trouble - so ill Green 2, VT Collins 2

We’ve got to have A.D. make some shots in the second half, or provide more opportunities for Deron, Dowdell, or Coleman. If A.D. can’t get on track, then look for a lineup of Munson, Dowdell, Gordon, Washington, and Collins (with Diakite instead of Witcher off the bench). I don’t think Sailes will see much time in the second half since we are in dire need of some offense. We can pull this one out.

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[Note: TechHoops.com will be having In Game Commentary during today's game. Join us and share your comments.]

Update: Matt Shaw, so ill’s third leading scorer, has a sprained left ankle and may be unable to play on Sunday.  Boyle will start in his place.

The Hokies can capture the Illinois State Championship and a trip to the Sweet 16 on Sunday when they take on the salukis (it’s a dog) of southern illinois (that’s ’so ill’ for short). After defeating illinois 54-52 on Friday night, the Hokies are primed to make their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 1967 (VT made the Elite Eight that year). These two teams met in Lake Buena Vista, FL (Disney World) back on November 26th in the 5th-place game of the Old Spice Classic. The salukis won that game 69-64. This game will be played in Columbus, OH at the Nationwide Arena.

The salukis have been to the NCAA Tournament six years in a row. They made the Sweet Sixteen in 2002 with former Hokie Rolan Roberts on the team. So this team is very experienced on this stage, but with the Hokies having a NCAA Tournament game under their belts, this shouldn’t be a factor.

The salukis are similar to illinois in that they are a defensive minded team and play at a slow pace. They have a suffocating defense that led the Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) in Scoring Defense by holding teams to just 56.3 points per game. That’s also third best in the nation. Teams shot over 41% against them, which isn’t in the top 50 in the NCAA. That tells you that southern illinois doesn’t give up a lot of shots and possessions are at a premium. Like the illini, the salukis will not hit the offensive boards with their guards and instead drop back on defense, making it difficult to get out and run on them.

Again, as I said about the illinois game, Tech will have to find ways to get easy baskets. They weren’t able to do this until they implemented the full court press. I wouldn’t be shocked to see VT use the three-quarters court trapping press some in this game to try and force the tempo and to get Tech’s transition game going. The Hokies will struggle to find open looks in the half court set against this defense. Points off steals, outlet passes off rebounds, and hitting threes are a must for the Hokies to get points. Also, Tech needs to do a better job of hitting shots from 10 feet in, something they were awful at in the illinois game. Even when VT had open looks, they were missing until the final eight minutes.

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Wow. Wow. Wow.

Was that game more surprising than any other win this season, including the carolina win at the dean dome? You could make a great case for it.

The Hokies won a Big Ten slugfest and stole one from the illini tonight, 54-52. At the 8:18 mark of the second half, illinois was poised to execute the biggest upset of the first round (from a seeding perspective). They led the Hokies 47-34 after Brian Randle converted the second free throw of a 1 and 1. But, the Hokies stepped up the defensive pressure by going to a full court press. From that point on, Virginia Tech outscored the illini 20-5. Add to that, the Hokies scored the final 12 points of the game. The illini’s last point was at the 4:29 mark. We scored 37% of our points in the final 8 minutes of the game. Yes, Deron had the hot hand in the end, but we still missed easy buckets and free throws down the stretch. The difference was that the Hokies had a lot more scoring opportunities due to the defensive pressure. It forced turnovers and changed the pace of the game.

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YEAH BABY!!! HOW BOUT THEM HOKIES!!!

HOKIES 54 illini 52

Second Half
0:17.6 VT 54 ill 52 | Make your friggin free throws, please!?!?!

0:37.7 VT 53 ill 52 | I can barrelly tyyype …

1:28 ill 52 VT 50 | Ok .. going into cardiac arrest now. I don’t know if I can finish the commentary.

2:15 ill 52 VT 50 | YES! YES! YES! I BELIEVE!

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• Dick Vitale picked illinois to beat us thanks to their devastating D.
• We’ll see how VT reacts to being in the Big Dance. That was their goal all season - to make the NCAA Tournament. Now that they’ve done that, will they have the fire and intensity it takes? I think Tech will since they are a veteran team and won’t just rest on making the tourney. The Hokie guards are very competitive any time they step on the floor and need to set the tone for everyone else.
• Nerves: illinois is a very veteran team and everyone that they play has at least been in uniform for a NCAA Tournament game. Most of their players have played in several tourney games. Tech, on the other hand, does not have a single player that has ever played in a tourney game. We’ll see if VT comes out shaky and tight. Hopefully, that won’t lead to an early deficit since Tech has struggled to come from behind this year. I don’t see VT being overly nervous though since they have four upperclassmen starting that have played in ACC Tournaments and even a Big East Tournament (other than Deron). [Heck, I'm nervous and it is 8 hours to game time... I can't concentrate on anything at work]
• nc state: The illini are similar to nc state, but with a much better defense and a slightly worse offense. We will see if Tech has learned from their three battles with the wolfpack. Tech must force the illinois big men to shoot farther from the hoop than nc state had to, and defend the three well. If illinois is able to score with ease and shoot a high percentage, I don’t see Tech winning this game. Fouling their big men over giving up easy buckets isn’t a bad idea since the illini don’t shoot free throws well.
• On offense, the fast break is the key to the Hokies. If they can get buckets in transition, I like our chances. However, getting buckets in the half court set will be tough and illinois rebounds very well on the defensive glass. I really hope Dowdell can hit two or more three-pointers in this game, and hopefully Vassallo has his hot shooting continue.
• Defend the illinois three, limit offensive rebounds, and get out on the break, and I see a Hokie win.
• Pulse of the Fans: I think a lot of VT fans are skeptical about how the Hokies will do tonight. Kind of odd for a 5 seed against a 12, but I guess that is what the nc state losses have done to us. What was it they said in Animal House? I recommend drinking heavily?