ERIC BRADY The Roanoke Times

Virginia Tech's Dorenzo Hudson drives to the basket past Quinnipiac defender Jamee Jackson in the NIT first-round game Wednesday night.

ERIC BRADY The Roanoke Times

Tech coach Seth Greenberg sought advice from former Indiana coach Bob Knight on how to stoke the Hokies for the NIT.

BLACKSBURG -- Virginia Tech didn't go one-and-done in this tournament.

After losing in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals and getting bypassed for the NCAA tournament, the Hokies responded with an 81-61 rout of Quinnipiac in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday night.

"We've got something to prove because I feel like we should've been in the [NCAA] tournament," said Dorenzo Hudson, who had 19 points. "Sunday and Monday was kind of down [days] for the team, but I feel like we did a pretty good job of bouncing back today and just going out there and playing hard."

On Sunday night, the Hokies (24-8) gathered at coach Seth Greenberg's home to watch the NCAA tournament selection show. The players were stunned not to get a bid, Hudson said.

Malcolm Delaney had 19 of his 25 points in the first half, when he dove on the press table to try to get a loose ball after a Hudson block.

"We knew where we should have been playing right now," Delaney said. "A lot of people knew where we should be right now. But we're still playing basketball.

"We're just going to take the opportunity to get better and get some momentum going into next year."

This was the third straight year Tech was relegated to the NIT. The disappointment was greater "by far" this time, Delaney said.

"We deserved to be in," Delaney said.

"Unless I know somebody playing on the team, I won't watch any tournament games."

Getting motivated for the NIT was a bigger challenge than the previous two years, Hudson said.

"We expected to be playing somewhere else, so it makes it a lot tougher," Hudson said. "We thought we had a lock spot, and then came Selection Sunday.

"It kind of hit us hard."

Greenberg said it had been a "rough 72 hours" for him as well.

"They probably handled this situation better than I did," Greenberg said. "We had everything to lose and really not a whole lot to gain tonight, and I think we're all probably emotionally drained.

"I was a little bit worried, just looking in their eyes before the game, ... but we came and we played really hard."

After beating the eighth-seeded visitors from Hamden, Conn., the top-seeded Hokies next host the University of Connecticut at 7 p.m. Monday.

Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore hoped Tech would be "emotionally flat" for this game, giving his Bobcats (23-10) a chance. But he was impressed by the Hokies' energy.

Greenberg left a message Sunday for coaching legend Bob Knight, asking for advice on getting Tech motivated for the NIT. Knight responded with a four-minute message that was "not printable," Greenberg said.

"The gist of it was go out and kick ass and make 'em look stupid," Greenberg said.

Greenberg had ex-Hokies David Jackson and Shawn Good, who both played on an NIT championship team, speak to the players in recent days to motivate them.

"Playing Wednesday was huge for us," Greenberg said.

"I'm not sure we could've gotten to this point by Tuesday."

The paid attendance was 5,264, including 1,758 tickets that were bought by fans for Tech students to use. Not all of those donated tickets were snapped up.

QUINNIPIAC (23-10)

Rutty 10-13 2-2 22, Cruz 3-5 0-2 6, J.Johnson 5-17 4-4 17, J.Baker 0-0 0-0 0, Feldeine 0-5 0-0 0, Twyman 1-8 0-0 3, D.Johnson 1-3 0-0 2, Tarca 0-0 0-0 0, May-Thompson 0-1 0-0 0, Light 1-2 0-0 2, E.Baker 0-2 2-2 2, Bogdan 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 3-6 1-2 7. Totals 24-63 9-12 61.

VIRGINIA TECH (24-8)

Allen 2-8 2-3 6, Bell 2-4 0-0 5, Davila 4-5 1-3 9, Hudson 5-17 7-12 19, Delaney 9-15 3-4 25, Raines 2-2 0-0 4, Green 0-3 0-0 0, Witcher 1-2 0-0 2, Atkins 1-1 0-0 2, Debnam 0-2 0-0 0, Thompson 3-5 3-4 9. Totals 29-64 16-26 81.

Halftime--Virginia Tech 39-27. 3-Point Goals--Quinnipiac 4-15 (J.Johnson 3-9, Twyman 1-1, Bogdan 0-1, D.Johnson 0-1, Feldeine 0-3), Virginia Tech 7-20 (Delaney 4-8, Hudson 2-7, Bell 1-2, Allen 0-1, Green 0-2). Fouled Out--None. Rebounds--Quinnipiac 30 (Rutty 7), Virginia Tech 42 (Allen 9). Assists--Quinnipiac 13 (J.Johnson 8), Virginia Tech 20 (Bell, Delaney 6). Total Fouls--Quinnipiac 17, Virginia Tech 12. A--5,264.