Here are the highlights from the final 30 seconds of last night’s miracle win…

Box Score

The Virginia Tech Hokies’ NCAA tournament hopes got a huge boost Friday night as Tech beat the No. 3 seed fsu in the 2011 ACC Tournament, 52-51, in a sloppy, low-scoring game, that for at least one half set the sport back a half century.

The Hokies overcame a 10-point, second-half deficit and tied the game at 49 on a Manny Atkins three pointer from near the Virginia Tech bench with three minutes to play. The noles retook the lead, 51-49, before Malcolm Delaney hit 1/2 free throws with :41 seconds left to cut the lead to one, 50-51.

Erick Green was just 2/13 on the night, but he hit his biggest shot of the game, a long two from the top of the key, with 4.7 seconds to play to give the Hokies their first lead, 52-51, since early in the opening half when they lead 4-3.

fsu still had a shot, though. Derwin Kitchen got the ball in the far corner and appeared to hit a game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer as the noles’ bench and about a dozen fans erupted in celebration. But after nearly five minutes of reviewing the shot, it was clear that the ball was still on his fingertips when the clock hit 00:00:00. The officials left the scorer’s table and waived off the basket, thus giving the win to the Hokies.

Aside from the thrilling end, this game was ugly; something Hokie fans have witnessed so often this season. Everything that could go wrong, practically did. Things got off to an ominous start when head coach Seth Greenberg called a timeout just 41 seconds into the game and got into a verbal argument with first-team All-ACC guard Malcolm Delaney, whom Greenberg promptly benched for :32 seconds.

Greenberg could be seen trying to talk to Delaney, but the star player turned his head away from the coach, clearly not interested in what he had to say.

It got worse. Jeff Allen picked up two fouls less than five minutes into the game, while Davila finished the first half with three fouls and Delaney was called for two fouls. The Hokies couldn’t hit a free throw, or a field goal for that matter, the entire first half. It took Virginia Tech six and a half minutes to register their first field goal and were under 50 percent from the charity stripe until Delaney hit a pair with less than a second left in the half. The finished the half 7/13 from the FT line and trailed 19-27 at the break.

The Hokies shot a pathetic 17.9 percent from the field on 5/28 shooting in the first half. They had only 19 points and two of those came on a pair of Delaney free throws with less than a second to play in the half. The 19 points is the lowest first-half total by the Hokies all season. Their lowest scoring output in a half was 18 in a 72-57 road loss to georgia tech.

The second half didn’t get off to a particularly great start either. After a quick 4-0 run by the Hokies, Davila picked up his fourth foul, while Delaney and Allen picked their third less than five minutes into the second half. It was all downhill from there.

From there, the noles pushed their lead to 10 points, 28-38, with 13:25 to play. Then, the Hokies finally found some rhythm. Tech used an 11-3 run to cut fsu’s lead to one, 39-40 with nine minutes to play and it was a decent game from then on out.

With 3:05 remaining and Tech trailing 49-46, Manny Atkins came of a screen near the Hokies’ bench and drained a three pointer to tie the game at 49. The Noles regained the lead with a minute to play, 51-49. Delaney was fouled in the act with :41 to play, but missed the first and made the second, to cut the lead to 50-51.

The noles had the ball and the shot clock off when fsu called a timeout. On the inbounds pass, Allen stripped the ball giving the Hokies the ball. Green hit the eventual game winner, but only after replays showed that fsu’s would-be game-winner did not count.

Foul trouble nearly killed the Hokies Friday night. Delaney, Davila and Allen all played with four fouls each for the critical final five minutes of the second half, which hindered their ability to play aggressive basketball. Despite that, Tech kept the game close and allowed them to hang with the noles before overcoming the adversity.

The Hokies will face No. 2 seed duke tomorrow in the ACC semifinals.

Spread: VT by 1.5 (wow, wasn’t expecting that — clearly Vegas doesn’t think Singleton is playing).

The Hokies kept themselves firmly on the bubble Thursday by beating georgia tech, now they have a chance to punch their ticket to the Big Dance with a win over florida state.   A loss means a lot of anxiety between now and Sunday evening.

The big question is: will Chris Singleton play?  fsu’s lone star (he’s to the noles what Toney Douglas was two years ago) has been out since February 12th when he suffered a foot stress fracture against uva.  He’s been shooting and warming up lately before games.  Personally, I don’t think he’ll play.  I think they’ll save him for the NCAA Tournament next week (they have a bid locked up) to protect his future and give him more time to heal.

Even if Singleton cannot play, don’t think this game will be a walkover.  The noles have been playing surprisingly well since their franchise man went down.  They beat uva despite the fact Chris went down early in the game while fsu was behind, and they’ve won three of five since.  One of those losses was to unc (yes, the unc that has won 12 of 13) where fsu led with under 10 seconds left before Harrison Barnes hit a 3-pointer to win it for the heels.  So these guys can still play… though I’m not sure how.  And to be fair, five of the six teams they played without Singleton (including uva) had losing ACC records.  Friday will be a test for the noles, who won’t have the hunger VT should have.

Note that teams playing on consecutive days tend to have an advantage early in games since they tend to be in the flow more quickly.  All you have to do is look at Tech’s record on short turnarounds (6-1) in ACC regular season games to see that.  Or look at the Big East marathon ( I mean Tournament) — there have been tons of upsets where teams that played the previous day upset a higher seed that was resting.  That will be key to Tech to jump up early.

HO-KEYS TO WINNING:

• 3-Pt%: In VT’s last 15 games, the team that shot a higher percentage from behind the arc won.  (Though in the first meeting between these clubs, VT was just 1/8 from deep — FTs won them that game).
• Transition: fsu plays great defense.  That’s how they win with or without Singleton.  They aren’t going to drop 80 or 90 on you.  So the Hokies have to find ways to get easy buckets.  Push the ball like they did against georgia tech and attack the rim, Green and Delaney.
• Protect the ball: The noles need turnovers to fuel their offense.  They are good in transition.  The Hokies need to make smart passes, and avoid giving up a lot of steals (fsu is #2 in the league in steals).
• Urgency: Tech needs to play like they did Thursday, or like they did against duke — like they were playing for a NCAA Tournament bid.  In many ways, they are.  Win Friday and I feel they are a lock.  Lose, and again, they are the mercy of the Committee, which hasn’t worked out too well the last 3 years.
• Battle Inside: The noles aren’t a team that’s going to bomb you out of the gym from deep (8th in the league in 3s made per game).  They want to penetrate.  VT has to work hard to cut off noles on the dribble, while being smart and not fouling, then box out and deny fsu second chance opportunities.

SERIES:

• All-time: fsu 25-18
• In ACC Play: fsu 6-3

EARLIER MEETING:

• at VT 71, fsu 59 (Recap)

Jeff Allen scored 24 and snagged 11 boards on his way to ACC Player of the Week honors.  VT hit 34/37 free throws to fuel the win.  Chris Singleton had 22 points and 8 rebounds for fsu.

STARTERS:

*Singleton would play for White if he plays.

STATS*:

*Team stats are from ACC games only (and ACC rank), player stats are for all games.

# Since my thought is Singleton won’t play, I’ve listed their second leading ‘whatever’.

BORING FACTS ABOUT fsu:

• f-l-o-r-i-d-a s-t-a-t-e! florida state, florida state, florida state… WOOOOO! [Sorry, but guys should not be yelling 'Woooo' at the end of your school cheer]
• Established in 1851
• 31,000 undergrads, 8,500 post-grads
• Was an all women’s school from 1906 to 1947 when it became coed. Lee Corso (ESPN Gameday personality) joked that when he went on his recruiting visit to the florida gators, he barely saw any women, but when he went to fsu, he barely saw any men… he went to fsu.
• Burt Reynolds went to fsu.
• Jim Morrison attended fsu for a stretch and got arrested for a prank after a football game.
• Richard Simmons went to fsu (chuckle)
• Ted Bundy killed two fsu Chi Omegans during his serial killing spree back in the late ’70s.
• fsu has 2 titles in football (as Hokies know all too well) and 3 title game appearances in the College World Series, but lost all 3.
• 2 Heismans – Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke
• florida state is the only school VT hasn’t beaten on the road in football OR basketball.  0-1 in pigskin, 0-4 in hoops.