Photos by MATT GENTRY The Roanoke Times

Top photo: A crowd of 9,757 watches the Hokies defeat UAB on Monday night in Blacksburg. Above: Tech's Deron Washington,dunks the ball over UAB players Ed Berrios, (10) and Howard Crawford (35) in first half action of the Tech second-round NIT win.

Associated Press

Tech's Hank Thorns, left, and A.D. Vassallo share a laugh during the final minutes of play.

Tech's Deron Washington dunks the ball over UAB players Ed Berrios (10) and Howard Crawford (35).

Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Next game

• Mississippi at Virginia Tech
• Wednesday, 7 p.m.

BLACKSBURG -- Stephen Curry, the standout guard who has led Davidson into the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament, is Seth Greenberg's big recruiting blunder.

The players that the Virginia Tech men's basketball coach did offer scholarships to might not be making quite the same splash as Curry of late, but they're still playing, too.

The Hokies advanced to the NIT quarterfinals Monday with a 75-49 second-round win over UAB in front of another near-capacity crowd at Cassell Coliseum.

Tech fans remain disappointed that Curry, the eldest son of former Virginia Tech great Dell Curry, only received a walk-on offer from Greenberg.

But the Hokies did give their fans something to be enthused about, recording their second straight lopsided win. And now fans will have one last chance to turn out at Cassell.

Top-seeded Tech (21-13), which has won seven of its past nine games, will host second-seeded Mississippi at 7 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2 for a berth in next week's semifinals at Madison Square Garden.

Another big crowd Wednesday seems likely. Monday's game drew 9,757 fans; last week's 94-62 first-round rout of Morgan State drew 9,628 fans. Tech boosters again donated 3,000 NIT tickets to Tech students.

"That crowd was absolutely unbelievable," Greenberg said.

The Hokies didn't need Curry to hurt the Blazers from outside, going 9-of-21 from 3-point range. A.D. Vassallo had 18 points and four 3-pointers, while Malcolm Delaney had 17 points and three 3-pointers. They were 12-of-17 from the field combined. Deron Washington had 16 points and two 3-pointers.

"We're real confident right now," Delaney said. "We're not hesitating to shoot."

"We've got some guys seeing very big baskets right now," Greenberg said. "Every time [Delaney] shoots it, if he misses it, I think it's like Tiger Woods missing a putt."

Fifth-seeded UAB (23-11), which lost to Conference USA rival Memphis 79-78 last month, never led.

The Blazers were held to their lowest point total of the season. It was the eighth time this season Tech held a team to fewer than 50 points. UAB shot 36.2 percent from the field. The Blazers were 3-of-18 from 3-point territory, including 0-of-7 in the first half.

"We were just terrific defensively," Greenberg said. "There weren't a lot of uncontested scoring opportunities for them."

"We missed layups. We missed open shots," UAB coach Mike Davis said. "We never could get into a rhythm, but they had a lot to do with that."

All-Conference USA first-team pick Robert Vaden was held to nine points, his second-lowest output of the season. The 6-foot-5 swingman entered the game averaging 21.4 points and ranked second in Division I with an average of 4.4 3-pointers. Guarded by the 6-7 Washington for much of the game, Vaden was 3-of-17 from the field Monday -- including 1-of-12 from 3-point territory.

"[There were] plenty of keys -- chasing him, bodying him off screens, getting up into him when he catches the ball," Washington said. "The big men extended on the screens and the guards helped on the pass."

Tech guarded Vaden the same way it has defended Miami's Jack McClinton, who was 4-of-17 from the field against the Hokies in the ACC Tournament.

"We committed three guys to him," Greenberg said of Vaden.

UAB guard Channing Toney, the son of former Philadelphia 76ers guard Andrew Toney, was held to five points -- half his average.

The Hokies, who made their first 15 shots of the second half against Morgan State, made seven of their first eight shots Monday -- including all three of their 3-point attempts in that span. Tech built a 19-7 lead with 15:39 to go in the half, scoring three baskets off turnovers.

Vaden was just 1-of-9 from the field in the first half, including 0-of-5 from 3-point range. He played just 16 minutes in the first half because of foul trouble. The Indiana transfer picked up a foul in the first 20 seconds, making Davis livid as he complained to the officials.

Davis, who as Indiana's coach steered the Hoosiers to the 2002 NCAA Final Four, also made his displeasure known in the second half. He was whistled for a technical foul with Tech up 61-39 with 7:19 to.