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SAN JOSE – No. 4 Virginia Tech and No. 12 Liberty are located about 90 minutes apart in Southwest Virginia – close enough that they played an exhibition game in November to raise money for hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico, where Liberty starting guard Georgie Pacheco-Ortiz grew up.
The stakes could not have been more different on Sunday, when they met against in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in one of the biggest games in each program’s history.
In the end, Virginia Tech was able to avoid the upset bug at San Jose’s SAP Center. At a site where the other three high seeds were upset in the first round, Virginia Tech won 67-58 to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1967.
Kerry Blackshear had 19 points and nine rebounds and senior Justin Robinson, the school’s all-time leader in assists, had 13 points and four assists in his second game back after missing 12 games with a foot injury.
“I’m so excited for (Robinson),” said coach Buzz Williams, who previously led Marquette to three straight Sweet 16s. “There was never any assurance that he was going to be able to play again. For him to be able to come back on this stage and obviously be a part of winning on Friday and then to continue our season, just thankful. Regardless of how it plays out, he was able to end his career in this manner is so much better than him sitting over there in civilian clothes.”
The game played 2,700 miles away from the schools’ campuses may not have captured the imagination of Bay Area sports fans. There were tickets available at game time for programs that locals might only know in relation to Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry – his father Dell played at Virginia Tech, and his brother Seth started at Liberty before transferring to Duke.
But that didn’t lessen the intensity on the court, especially in a back-and-forth start to the second half. Virginia Tech (26-8) started with seven straight points to go up 36-32, and Liberty (29-7) responded with nine straight points. The Hokies then made their decisive run, scoring 11 straight to make it 52-44 with 9:11 remaining as the Flames committed four turnovers and missed four shots. Liberty got within 59-54 on a 3-pointer by Pacheco-Ortiz, but Robinson made a pull-up jumper from the free throw line with two minutes left to bring the lead back to 7. The Flames made just 2 of their last 12 shots.
“First half I thought we played defense, but we kind of was just ‘eh,’” said Ahmed Hill, who had two of Virginia Tech’s 10 steals. “I think when we picked up the intensity and kind of talked to one another, we began to move better, faster, sharper, mentally, and I think that was the difference.”
Liberty junior Caleb Homesley was held to eight points on 3-of-11 shooting after scoring a career-high 30 Friday against No. 5 Mississippi State.
Both teams set program records for victories this season. Liberty was coming off its first-ever NCAA Tournament win, while Virginia Tech won in March Madness for the first time in 12 years by shutting down No. 13 St. Louis.
The Hokies will be much closer to home for the East Regional semifinal when they face No. 1 overall seed Duke Friday in Washington D.C. Virginia Tech has beaten the Blue Devils in three of the past four seasons, including a Hokies home game on Feb. 26, though Robinson and Duke’s Zion Williamson were both injured last month.
“We’re not going to be star-struck or scared or any of that,” Robinson said. “We’re just going to battle, make it a fight and play how we know how to play and be the best version of ourselves.”
