Virginia Tech vs. Illinois Live Blog: 2007 NCAA Tournament

Tonight Virginia Tech plays Illinois in Game set 3 of the NCAA Tournament Day 2. The Hokies are led by senior guards Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon, and they will be needed today for Tech to win. Illinois’ strength lies in their frontcourt, and they’ll need to defend the perimeter well to force the Hokie guards inside. Actually that strategy may backfire, as few can penetrate the paint better than Dowdell.

UPDATE: Oregon 58-Miami(OH) 56, Final. Hezbollah took a good, long look at my bracket, thought about pulling the trigger, but decided against it.

7:12 pm: 4-0, Ill. Warren Carter hits two straight baskets, giving the Illini an early lead.

Virginia Tech is struggling early with their shots.

7:14 pm: 6-2, Ill. Gordon puts the Hokies on the board, but Shaun Pruitt gets a basket on the next possession.

Illinois is really slowing the game down. Their strategy is much like Miami in the ACC Tournament, but they have bigger inside players who execute it better.

7:16 pm: 9-5, Ill. Rich McBride hits a three, but Coleman Collins gets a tough basket inside.

7:17 pm: 11-7, Ill. Deron Washington is rejected on one end, and on the other end Brian Randle hits another Illini jumpshot.

Dowdell drives down the lane and gets the basket and the foul.

Our first TV timeout. Pruitt has 2 fouls.
7:21 pm: 11-8, Ill. Both teams take turns throwing the ball away after Dowdell completes getting three the hard way.

Illinois is very uncomfortable playing at Virginia Tech’s pace. If the Hokies dictate a transition game, the Illini stand little chance of competing.

7:23 pm: 14-11, VT. Dowdell and Vassallo each hit three pointers,m the latter of which give Virginia Tech its first lead.

7:24 pm: 14-13, VT. McBride drives inside and gets a layup on the next possession.

7:26 pm: As we near midway through the first half, both teams are struggling to get good shots.

7:29 pm: Dowdell is taking a breather.

7:31 pm: A great block by Diakite on Pruitt. These two teams are really clamping down defensively, which for now favors Illinois’ pace.

7:32 pm: 17-16, VT. McBride hits a three in transition, but Washington matches him on the other end.

7:33 pm: 19-17, Ill. McBride is shooting lights out right now.

Another TV timeout.

7:39 pm: 21-17, Ill. Pruitt hits a nice inside turnaround shot to extend the lead to four, but he nearly picks up his third foul.

Five and a half minutes left.

7:40 pm: 23-19, Ill. Virginia Tech is vulnerable inside, and Illinois is taking advantage.

7:41 pm: 25-29, Ill. Randle gets a dunk inside. He jumped from about 10 feet away from the basket.

Since being up 11-7, Virginia Tech has only hit two shots in over ten minutes.

7:45 pm: Nothing like an awkward pop culture reference from an announcer to give you a good laugh. Tim Brando: “FIGHT THE POWAHH!”

7:49 pm: Nigel Munson is in for the Hokies, but their shooting struggles continue. Illinois’ perimeter defense is insane.

7:51 pm: 29-19, Ill. Carter hits a three AND gets the foul. The Illini are up double digits with less then 90 seconds to go in the first half.

I think the Hokies have forgotten what a made shot looks like.

7:53 pm: 29-21, Ill. And just as I say that, Coleman Collins misses a dunk. At least Dowdell hits an open shot.

7:55 pm: After a frantic exchange at the end of the first half, Gordon misses a three at the buzzer. Illinois leads 29-21 at halftime. They’re leading because they played great perimeter defense. The Illini will need to keep that up if they want to win. As for Virginia Tech, their guard must find a way to penetrate the perimeter and force the Illini out of their gameplan. They need to attack the inside, where three opposing player have two fouls each.

UPDATE: Purdue and New Mexico State each lead by 5 against Texas and Arizona, respectively.

8:17 pm: We’re back. The second half begins with Deron Washington getting a nice basket inside. 29-23, Ill.

8:18 pm: 29-25, Ill. now THAT’S a putback, Coleman Collins!

8:19 pm: 31-25, Ill. Pruitt scores inside for Illinois’ first basket of the second half.

Illinois is pressuring Virginia Tech’s guards much more than vice versa.

8:21 pm: 31-27, Ill. Pruitt picks up his third foul.

Seth Greenberg goes ballistic and picks up a technical foul. He was really mad that Washington didn’t draw a foul.

8:23 pm: 35-29, Ill. As we go to the first TV timeout of the second half, Virginia Tech still can’t buy an outside shot.

8:28 pm: The Hokies force a shot clock violation. Collins drives inside and draws Randle’s third foul, but he can’t make his free throws.

8:30 pm: 38-29, Ill. McBride hits another three.

It’s gotten bad enough that Virginia Tech is now missing open shots. They’ve only hit four field goals in twenty minutes. That’s certainly not for a lack of effort; the Illinois defense has been stifling.

8:33 pm: 39-32, Ill. Virginia Tech finally gets a wide open shot with good passing, as A.D. Vassallo stops the bleeding.

8:36 pm: McBride heads to the locker room for unexplained reasons. While the cat’s away, the mice MUST play.

8:41 pm: 44-34, Ill. Do NOT tell me that Virginia Tech is going to lose this game because of Calvin Brock!

8:43 pm: 46-34, Ill. Everything;s going Illinois’ way. Carter’s floater bounces on the rim about three times before falling in.

The Hokies still have gotten very few open looks. With less than nine minutes left, time is running out.

8:45 pm: Seth Greenberg looks like he’s about to kill the next guy who walks by. Where’s the senior backcourt leadership?

8:48 pm: God, I hate network TV sitcom laugh tracks. For the millionth time, your jokes just aren’t that funny!

8:49 pm: 47-37, Ill. If it means anything at this point, two Illini frontcourt players have four fouls.

8:55 pm: 48-40, Ill., 6:10 left. Virginia Tech is applying defensive pressure, and they’ve been forcing turnovers. Too bad the Hokies can’t shoot free throws.

8:57 pm: 50-40, Ill. How does Carter make that shot?!?

8:58 pm: 50-42, Ill., 5:00 left. Gordon gets a tough basket inside, and the Hokies force another turnover. However, Virginia Tech still can’t hit their shots.

9:00 pm: 52-42, Ill., 4:30 left. Washington gets wrongly called for a technical, but Randle misses both of his free throws. On the ensuing possession, he gets to score from much closer.

9:01 pm: 52-45, Ill., 4:15 left. Washington finally hits a three.

9:03 pm: You just hate to see that. Gordon works so hard to force another Illinois turnover, and then he misses the point blank layup and Illinois rebounds. That Has been a microcosm of the game. The Hokies just can’t catch a break.

9:05 pm: Virgina Tech forces yet another turnover. Coleman Collins releases the ball six inches from the rim…and it falls short. At this point, you have to believe that Bruce Weber installed some sort of force field on the baskets while no one was looking. Illinois is very lucky their lead has yet to evaporate.

9:09 pm: 52-47, Ill. Collins hits his free throws, and the Hokies are within five.

Illinois commits another turnover.

Washington hits another three!!! The lead is cut to two. With 2:15 to play, it’s 52-50.

9:11 pm: Virginia Tech forces another empty trip for the Illini. With 90 seconds left, the Hokies now have a chance to tie.

9:12 pm: Gordon is fouled and sent to the line…but he misses the first one. 52-51, Ill, 70 seconds left.

9:14 pm: Washington hits a midrange jumper off the backboard! and VT takes the lead! 53-52, VT, 45 seconds left.

Since being down 47-34, the Hokies have outscored Illinois 19-5.

9:17 pm: Illinois misses two shots on their end, and A.D. Vassallo rebounds and gets fouled. Replay shows Washington may have fouled Carter on his attempt. Vassallo makes one of two free throws. 54-52, VT, 17 seconds left.

9:19 pm: Randle misses an open three, but Washington fouls him. He misses his first free throw, Washington rebounds, Virginia Tech wins a scrum for the ball, and Virginia Tech wins, 54-52! An unbelievable comeback by the Hokies. Seth Greenberg’s full court pressure in the second half caught Illinois off guard, and they collapsed in the final minutes. Virginia Tech made far too many mistakes, but they played good enough defense to stay in the game long enough until Deron Washington carried them to victory on offense. My bracket is saved!

This is about as much live-blogging as I can take for today. I’ll be back tomorrow for the second round.

Notre Dame vs. Winthrop Live Blog: 2007 NCAA Tournament

Today #11 seed Winthrop plays #6 seed Notre Dame in game 2 of day 2 of the 2007 NCAA Tournament. Notre Dame will be out of their element, as 20 of their 24 wins were at home. They will need a big shooting day out of Russell Carter and Colin Falls, their top two scorers. Winthrop is attending their 7th big dance in 9 years under Greg Marshall, and this looks to be their strongest team yet. All of their starter are upperclassmen, and that experience will help them a lot in this game. In particular, Torrell Martin and Craig Bradshaw must have good games, and Winthrop needs to play good defense.

2:52 pm: 20-15, ND. After the GT-UNLV nail-biter, I’m joining this game a little late. The game seems to be going at a medium to slow pace, though.

2:55 pm: 20-17, ND. Chris Gaynor makes a gret layup driving inside. It looked like the seas parted on that play. The Irish need to play better interior defense.

2:56 pm: 24-17, ND. Winthrop is putting a lot of pressure on the ball defensively, but when Notre Dame is able to escape that pressure they’re getting really good looks at the basket.

3:01 pm: Both teams are playing well defensively, taking the opposing offense out of their comfort zone. I did not expect the Irish to play defense this well.

3:02 pm: 24-19, ND. Taj McCollough finds a path through the zone and gets a basket inside.

Michael Jenkins, Winthrop’s leading scorer, has yet to get on the board.

3:03 pm: 26-19, ND. For both teams right now, their only scoring opportunities are guards driving inside.

3:04 pm: 26-24, ND. We finally see our first outside basket, as Bradshaw, the center, hits a three. Another inside drive reduces the deficit to two.

3:05 pm: 26-26. Torrell Martin hits an unbelievable shot, spinning around inside, and shooting practically behind his back. The shot goes in off the backboard, and Winthrop ties the game.

3:07 pm: Small athletic budget = really bad mascot. Good lord, that’s the worst eagle I’ve seen since that replay of Bruce Pearl at BC in 1981.

Notre Dame gets a basket inside to take a 28-26 lead, while Bradshaw commits his second foul.

3:12 pm: Large athletic budget = really, really, really bad mascot. The Leprechaun?!? WTF?

3:14 pm: 29-28, Winthrop. McCollough is left open at the top of the key, he hits a three, and Winthrop has the lead.

The Eagles hit another three to beat the first half buzzer, and Winthrop leads 32-28 at halftime. The Eagles outscored Notre Dame 15-4 to end the half, as their perimeter shooting finally got hot in the last few minutes of the half. For Notre Dame to win, they will need to hit some outside shots of their own, and they need to force the Winthrop offense back inside.

3:19 pm: Sidney Lowe is a trendsetter. With his ACC Tournament run, the colored blazer is spreading fast. Sorry, Bo Ryan, but it just doesn’t look that good on you. Besides, it doesn’t seem to be working; your team is down 10-0 ti Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the only university on its own island.

3:28 pm: I have Wisconsin winning this game, but I really like the Islanders’ mascot. (photo via the Extrapolater)

3:32 pm: The second half begins. The eagles get two quick shots inside to make it 36-28, Winthrop.

3:33 pm: 39-28, WInthrop. The Eagles make another defensive stop, Torrell Martin hits a three in transition, and the Eagles have a double digit lead. They’ve scored 7 points in the first 90 seconds of the second half, and they’re on a 22-4 run.

3:38 pm: Notre Dame has been really cold in the second half. They;ve only scored 8 points in the last 13 minutes. Bradshaw hits another three to make it 42-28, Winthrop.

3:39 pm: 46-30, Winthrop. Colin Falls finally scores inside, but Torell Martin is on a tear in the second half. The Eagles are picking up the pace in the game, and the Irish seem to be left behind.

3:42 pm: 52-34, Winthrop. The Irish are finally getting things done offensively by bringing the ball inside. But they can’t stop anything defensively. Bradshaw is tearing them apart.

3:46 pm: If Notre Dame is the Irish, why does their coach, Mike Brey, look like a wise guy?

3:48 pm: 54-34, Winthrop. Bradshaw scores again, as the Eagles have a 20 point lead, almost insurmountable in this tournament. Bradshaw has 17.

UPDATE: Texas A&M-CC leads Wisconsin 23-7. The ND-Winthrop game’s been blacked out.

4:04 pm: 54-44, Winthrop. The game is still blacked out for Wisconsin-Corpus Christi, but Notre Dame is on a 10-0 run to cut the lead in half.

Seven and a half minutes left.

4:09 pm: 54-47, Winthrop. Tory Jackson finally hits a three for the Irish, who were 1 of 15 previously. Notre Dame has scored the last 13 points.

4:10 pm: 56-49, Winthrop. Colin Falls hits a floater. The Eagles have not had a field goal in more than 6 minutes, and they’re 3 of 10 from the free throw line.

4:11 pm: 56-52, Winthrop. Falls hits another three, and the lead is cut to four. If Notre Dame wins, Winthrop would commit the biggest choke job I’ve seen in the Tournament in a long time.

4;13 pm: 57-54, Winthrop. The lead is down to three, as Winthrop can;t buy a shot right now. Five minutes left to play, as the Eagles still haven;t scored a FG since Bradshaw shot and foul with over 12 minutes left.

4:14 pm: 59-56, Winthrop. McCullough dunks it in as Winthrop finally stops the bleeding.

4:15 pm: 59-58, Winthrop. Russell Carter gets a tough basket inside and cuts the lead to 1.

4:16 pm: 62-58, Winthrop. Bradshaw is given a great pass, and he gets the basket and the foul, which is the fifth for Rob Kurz. Winthrop now has the advantage inside. Free throw shooting will be key for the Eagles with less than four minutes left.

4:19 pm: Bradshaw makes a great block, but he can;t make the gimme on the other end.

4:20 pm: 62-61, Winthrop. Tory Jackson hits another three.

4:21 pm: Luke Harangody gets the basket AND the foul. 63-62, ND as he misses the free throw, and Bradshaw is able to get a shot on the other end almost immediately. 64-63, Winthrop.

4:22 pm: 67-63, Winthrop, 1:20 left. Gaynor is left wide open at the top of the key, and he buries the three.

If Jackson has made all of his free throws, the Irish have a 1 point lead. But he’s 1 for 5. 67-64, Winthrop.

4:25 pm: 70-64, Winthrop. Martin hits one of two free throws, Notre Dame misses their three point attempt, Winthrop rebounds, and Bradshaw delvers a devastating dunk. With less then 30 seconds left, the Eagles now have this game in hand.

4:27 pm: Notre Dame chucks up another shot, but it bounces out, Winthrop rebunds, and Notre Dame is forced to foul. 72-64, Winthrop.

4:29 pm: The games officially ends: Winthrop wins, 74-64. The Eagles almost gave it away, but they stepped up when they had to, with an 12-1 run to end the game.Let’s hope they spent enough in the tank to lose to Oregon on Sunday. My bracket depends on it!

I’ll be back at 7pm for Va. Tech vs. Illinois.

Georgia Tech vs. UNLV Live Blog: 2007 NCAA Tournament

Today #10 seed Georgia Tech plays #7 seed UNLV in the first game of Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament. The Rebels have experience on their side, starting four seniors, and will need a big game out of the guard, Kevin Kruger, Wink Adams, and Wendell White to win this game. Georgia Tech, a much more athletic team, will need their freshmen stars Javaris Crittenton and Thaddeus Young to dictate a fast pace the entire game and wear down the less athletic Rebels.

12:24 pm: Ladies and gentlemen, Billy Packer!

12:26 pm: 2-0, UNLV. Gaston Essengue score the first basket of the game, a midrange jumper.

12:28 pm: 2-1, UNLV. Essengue is already out with two fouls.

12:29 pm: 5-1, UNLV. Michael Umeh hits a three for the Rebels. This game seems to be going at UNLV’s pace, but the Jackets are shooting cold.

12:32 pm: 5-3, UNLV. ReSean Dickey finally hits a shot for Tech off an offensive rebound.

12:36 pm: 11-3, UNLV. Umeh hits two straight threes as the Rebels are playing great defense.

I did not expect this, although I should have. Georgia Tech was 3-10 outside of Atlanta this year.

12:42 pm: 11-8, UNLV. The Jackets get two quick basket, a three pointer followed by a steal and dunk by Mario West.

12:44 pm: 14-8, UNLV. Wink Adams hits a three. The Rebels are 4 of 6 from beyond the arc.

Crittenton is taking a breather. The Jackets’ depth should get the Rebels tired at some point in the game.

12:49 pm: 16-8, UNLV. Georgia Tech is doing a terrible job of rebounding the ball, especially on defense.

We’re midway through the first half, but it seems like the Jackets aren’t giving their best effort.

12:51 pm: 19-8, UNLV. Another basket “from the bonusphere”, this time by Adams, and the Rebels are dominating the game so far. Georgia Tech needs to force UNLV inside on both ends.

12:55 pm: 21-10, UNLV. If the Rebels have one problem, it’s that two of their players already have two fouls.

1:05 pm: 22-12, UNLV. Even Billy Packer can notice that the Yellow Jackets have no f—ing idea what they’re doing in the first half. Javaris Crittenton has yet to record a statistic.

1:07 pm: 25-14, UNLV. Tech finally gets a field goal, a runner by West, but UNLV immediately responds with a three.

Watching the Jackets without Crittenton is just painful.

1:12 pm: 29-15, UNLV. The Jackets were playing bad with Cirttenton on the bench, but they’re playing even worse with him in the game. He just made a horrendous pass that UNLV stole and made an easy dunk out of.

1:18 pm: 31-24, UNLV. This game hasn’t been as exciting as I thought it would be, but it still has some promise. Georgia Tech has gotten two straight baskets inside, and UNLV’s fouls are really going to cost them eventually.

1:20 pm: 31-26, UNLV. Georgia Tech is still playing good defense, and they’re finally being rewarded for attacking the inside.

1:22 pm: The Yellow Jackets cut their 31-17 deficit in half to end the first half, and as UNLV lead 33-26 at halftime, this game is within reach again for Georgia Tech. They’ll need a big second half of shooting out of freshmen Crittenton and Young, and they need to attack the inside and foul out some of the Rebel players. UNLV will need to hit their outside shots again, as the shooting went cold at the end of the first half. They will also need to play solid defense with getting their players in more foul trouble.

1:45 pm: 35-28, UNLV. As the second half begins, UNLV shoots two free throws, but Alade Aminu gets a putback inside.

1:46 pm: 38-35, UNLV. The Techies are finally firing on all cylinders. They’ve hit their last four shots, including baskets by Young and Anthony Morrow.

1:48 pm: 40-37, UNLV. Georgia Tech is now dictating the pace of the game, but Crittenton comes out of the game. I have no idea why; Georgia Tech has all of the momentum, but the Jackets need someone running the point.

1:49 pm: Morrow ties the game with a three. 40-40 as we go to the first TV timeout of the second half.

UNLV is still in a cold shooting stretch.

1:53 pm: Crittenton still hasn’t scored in this game. I don’t know how the Jackets are in this game when Crittenton has been a non-factor.

UNLV might be a little tired.

1:55 pm: 42-40, UNLV. Wendell White drives down the baseline and gets a tough layup over two GT players to give the Rebels the lead.

1:57 pm: 44-42, UNLV. Crittenton is back in the game. He may not have any point,s but the offense seems more in sync.

1:59 pm: 46-44, UNLV. Crittenton finally gets on the board, hitting a very difficult shot inside.

Wendell White immediately responds.

2:00 pm: 46-46. Georgia Tech ties the game again as they continue to attack inside.

2:05 pm: Why does Paul Hewitt keep pulling Crittenton? He’s their only true ball handler.

2:07 pm: 48-46, UNLV. Umeh hits his first shot of the second half as UNLV regains the lead. Georgia Tech still has not lead at any point in the game.

2:08 pm: 52-46, UNLV. I can now see why Hewitt keeps pulling Crittenton. He’s making a lot of bad decisions, and they’re really costing his team.

2:11 pm: What’s MJ doing watching the games in Chicago and not supporting his team in Winston-Salem?

2:13 pm: 55-48, UNLV. Umeh hits another three, and UNLV has a seven point lead with less than seven minutes remaining.

2:16 pm: 55-50, UNLV. Crittenton seems to be heating up. He now has 6, all in the second half.

2:17 pm: 55-52, UNLV. What a dunk by Jeremis Smith! and it’s now a one possession game.

Georgia Tech commits an unforced error. What kind of pass was that?!? The Yellow Jackets seem to be shooting themselves at crucial moments.

2:20 pm: 57-56, UNLV, 4:10 left. Crittenton is definitely playing well now. His inside shot rolls in, and then he makes a great dish to Aminu. It’s now a 1 point game.

UNLV has surprisingly done a good job of staying out of foul trouble, as we have our final official TV timeout. Tech will shoot to take the lead.

2:24 pm: 58-57, GT, 3:30 left. Morrow hits his free throws, and the Yellow Jackets have their first lead of the game.

2:26 pm: 59-58, UNLV, 2:20 left. Wendell White drives inside for a layup to give the lead back to the Rebels, as GT uses their last time out.

2:29 pm: 59-59, 2:00 left. Smith hits one of two free throws to tie.

2:30 pm: Georgia Tech keeps letting UNLV get offensive rebounds; if the Jackets lose, it could be because of that.

2:32 pm: 61-59, UNLV. The Rebels make a great inbound pass, and–who else?–Wendell White gets the basket inside and the foul. But he misses the free throw shot.

2:35 pm: 63-59, UNLV, :36 left. The Rebels keep getting their offensive rebounds, and if you can’t keep your opponent from getting second chances, you can’t win.

2:38 pm: 65-61, UNLV, :23 left. Crittenton makes a great assist to Zach Peacock, but they foul an 86% free throw shooter, as the UNLV band plays “Viva Las Vegas”. Ugh.

2:39 pm: 66-61, UNLV, :12 left. Georgia Tech drives inside, but Essengue (with four fouls!) blocks the shot, Kruger makes one of two free throws, UNLV steals the inbound pass, and my bracket is about take its first major hit.

2:44 pm: UNLV wins, 67-63. The rebels blew their 14 point lead, but they held on to win because they outfought the Jackets for every ball.

I’m now going to the live blog the ND-Winthrop game, which is already well underway.

Today’s Live Blogs: 2007 NCAA Tournament Day 2

12:25 pm: #7 UNLV vs. #10 Georgia Tech. Kevin Kruger versus Javaris Crittenton at point guard should be the matchup that decides the game.

2:35 pm: #11 Winthrop vs. #6 Notre Dame. The trendy upset, pick, even I have Winthrop winning. Which probably means the Irish are going to win by 20.

7:10 pm: #12 Illinois vs. #5 Virginia Tech. The Hokies’ experienced, athletic guardplay should be too much for the Illini.