NCAA Tournament Second Round Preview

(This article originally appeared on www.hokiehaven.com.)

After outlasting the Illini on Friday, Virginia Tech takes to the court in Columbus, Ohio again to battle another team from Illinois, Southern Illinois. Hokiehaven.com's Brian Golden takes a look ahead at the contest to see who will be headed to the Sweet Sixteen.

SOUTHERN ILLINOIS (28-6, 15-3 MVC)
Big Wins: VA Tech 69-64, at Creighton 58-57, at Butler 68-64
Bad Losses: at Evansville 75-68

Two days after making one less mistake than Illinois, and surviving a madcap final few seconds, Virginia Tech battles Southern Illinois today for a spot, presumably versus Kansas, in the Sweet 16. The Salukis are, in some ways, the anti-VA Tech. SIU won the Missouri Valley the way Virginia Tech couldn't win the ACC: by bringing the lunchpail every single night, and dispatching the less threatening conference opponents. Of course, Drake and Illinois State are a far cry from FSU and NC State, but Southern Illinois' tough mental makeup is clear. When some began to doubt if this 2007 edition would be as special as some of its predecessors, the Salukis woke up, and began a winning streak that would last 11 games, and 6 weeks.

Back before SIU totally had it together, they faced a Virginia Tech team still looking for its identity on November 26. Southern Illinois took game one of the season series 69-64, in a contest that saw four Saluki starters go for double figures. Tech recovered from that loss, however, and I don't think the previous contest will be much help for either team. Each unit has grown into a more experienced, mature version of itself on that November day. That was a sloppy evening of basketball, with each team committing turnovers by the truck load and SIU earning a nice win for their tournament resume.

The Salukis often struggle to score, but the tallies are led by senior guard Jamaal Tatum at 14.9 ppg. Tatum's numbers aren't eye popping, but he has a habit of going off in big games, averaging 19.6 ppg in the team's three big second half games, including 21 in the MVC tourney against Creighton. Tatum is good, but he's far from the other only threat out there. Randal Falker and Matt Shaw, the dual Saluki big men, will cause problems for VA Tech by their mere presence in the game. Shaw, plagued by a troubling inconsistency most of the year, has begun to find stability going for 11 points three straight games, and giving the methodical Hokies yet one more guarantee. Everyone that plays for SIU can control the basketball and play defense, but the team is not especially deep. Only two bench players saw more than five minutes against Holy Cross, therefore, penetrating the lane to draw fouls on Falker and Shaw is imperative. Unlike almost everyone Tech has played lately, SIU doesn't have a bench that can do damage.

Controlling the tempo is the first key to a Hokie victory. Or, it may be more appropriate to say, releasing the tempo. SIU will try to control the game's pace, settling in to half court sets and draining shot clock. VA Tech needs to trap a little, gamble a little, allow Dowdell to score and distribute in transition. SIU will win a game in 50s. Tech wins a game where they can score 65 or more. This is tough, but I think both teams are right at 60, and Tech loses a Hokie heartbreaker. SIU BY 2.