BLACKSBURG -- He is a 1,000-point scorer who has been struggling to make layups and jumpers for awhile, but Coleman Collins said he remains confident in his scoring ability.

The Virginia Tech center is shooting just 40.6 percent from the field in the past 11 games. He hopes to make an offensive contribution when the Hokies face Illinois in the NCAA tournament Friday in Columbus, Ohio.

"When I take shots, I'm confident I'm going to make them," he said. "If I get the ball in scoring position, I'm sure I'll be able to score this weekend."

Collins knows what the key is to improving offensively.

"Turn layups into dunks," said Collins, a senior who had four dunks in a Feb. 21 win over Boston College. "It'll come. I have a good feeling about this game."

The Hokies will likely need plenty of help from Collins defensively and on the boards Friday.

The Fighting Illini's leading scorers are forward Warren Carter (13.7 ppg, 6.2 rpg) and 6-foot-10 center Shaun Pruitt (11.6 ppg, 7.6 rpg). Illinois (23-11) outrebounds foes by 4.9 per game.

"We're going to need [Collins] to play like he's capable of," guard Markus Sailes said.

"When I'm called on to score, I try to do that. If it's a game where I need to focus on defense, then I'll do that too," Collins said. "I just want to extend our season by whatever means possible."

Collins is averaging 7.7 points, 5.0 rebounds and 24.4 minutes, down from 14.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 33.1 minutes last season.

He was shooting 54.7 percent from the field before a Jan. 31 loss to N.C. State. But in the 11 games beginning with that loss, he is just 26-of-64 from the field.

"I don't know what it is," Collins said of his shooting woes. "Whatever it is, it's correctable."

Collins has scored in double figures 11 times this season, but only once in the past 11 games. He had 15 points in a Feb. 24 win over Miami.

"I don't think I've lost it," he said. "I still have confidence.

"I don't expect to score 15 points if I'm only taking three shots a game."

Collins has taken just 181 shots in the 30 games he has played this season, down from 280 in 26 games last season. Tech hasn't been looking to him to score as much this season because of his inconsistency.

Although Collins was 2-of-3 from the field in Saturday's ACC semifinal loss to North Carolina State, he wasn't so accurate from the free-throw line. He twice missed the front end of one-and-ones in the final seven minutes.

Collins played well defensively in the tournament, though.

After Collins got in foul trouble in the first half of Friday's win over Wake Forest, he held All-ACC third-team center Kyle Visser to five points and four field-goal attempts in the second half. Visser praised Collins' defense after the game.

State center Ben McCauley had 36 points combined in two regular-season wins over Tech but had just eight points and was 2-of-4 from the field Saturday.

"I've been playing hard all year. I'm just playing a little bit better [defensively lately]," Collins said. "All of us have been defending the post earlier. ... You've got to work early in the possession to keep them from getting the ball in scoring spots."

Collins was impressive in a Jan. 28 win at Georgia Tech, when he had five dunks to finish 5-of-6 from the field. Then came the slump.

In the Jan. 31 loss to State, he missed three jumpers, a layup and a tip-in to finish 0-of-5. He had six blocks in a Feb. 10 win over Virginia, but he missed three jumpers and a layup to finish 2-of-6. On the one-year anniversary of his father's death from cancer, he was 3-of-12 from the field in a Feb. 13 win at North Carolina. He was 2-of-7 in a March 1 loss at Virginia, missing four jumpers and a layup. He was 2-of-6 in a March 4 loss to Clemson, missing two jumpers and two layups.

"I don't think anybody as competitive as my brother would be okay with a shooting slump," said Collins' older brother, Jackson Collins Jr. "But he's managing the best he can. You have to find other things to do to help your team, and I think he's done that."

Jackson Collins Jr. said their father's death is not affecting his brother's play.

"It's not something we don't deal with and think about, but in terms of being on the basketball court, I don't think that's an issue," Jackson Collins Jr. said. "He's competing. He very easily could have given it up. He hasn't. He plays hurt."

Sailes said Collins has been working on his shot outside of practice.

"Coleman, he's been getting healthier every day," Sailes said. "His knee's been hurting. His foot's been hurting. He's still got a thigh thing from last year. ... [His shot] is coming back to him."

"I'm feeling pretty good," Collins said. "I'm excited and ready to get out there."