Virginia Tech at Southern Illinois

Many feel Virginia Tech is lucky to be here after escaping with a 2 point victory over Illinois in round one. The Hokies trailed most of the game but came on late to get the win. In contrast, S. Illinois cruised to a 10 point win over Holy Cross. Rather than scare us, we like the fact that Virginia Tech got scared. And, it was against a much better opponent than S. Illinois faced. Virginia Tech will be focused here and confident knowing they can come back from any deficit. Matt Shaw, S. Illinois' third-leading scorer went down with an ankle injury last game and he won't play today. The Salukis need him to win by 5 at home earlier this season. They are on the road here and without him. Virginia Tech is more battle-tested coming from a much better conference. They are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 as a neutral court underdog.