"We tied the game up, we fought back," said Delaney, who had eight assists in, yet saw his string of scoring in double figures end at 32 straight games. "Unfortunately, everything didn't go our way."
Even though the Hokie defense improved greatly in the second half, holding Duke to a 31 percent clip from the field, they lapsed in a crucial situation. Failing to guard Paulus, inbounder Kyle Singler -- a former high school quarterback -- completed a pass to his wide-open receiver.
The cause of that breakdown?
"Miscommunication," Delaney said. "I don't think anybody saw him."
One thing that isn't clear is Tech's status on the bubble. The "will they, won't they" debate will swirl for the next two weeks. However, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, albeit with a subjective viewpoint, is quite convinced.
"They're playing really hard and well," he said. "They deserve to be in the tournament."
All the heartbreaking defeats have been well documented both locally and nationally. And while "good" losses are far better than getting blown out, as the Hokies did on Jan. 4 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, there won't be a benefit if they continue to happen up until the end of this season -- especially if fellow bubble teams start winning.
The quality road wins -- over Wake Forest, Miami and Clemson -- are what's keeping them in contention. Greenberg feels that his team is set to get more of those big wins.
"We've got opportunities to go out and do something special," he said. "The positive part is that I don't think we're that far away."
There next challenge isn't far away, either. It comes on Wednesday evening, when national title contender North Carolina strolls into town. After that, it's a road trip to No. 23 Florida State next Sunday leading up to the ACC Tournament.
As Coach K put it afterward, "more hellacious games."
The bad news is that it's a tough slate ahead for them to get an eighth conference win. The good news: Tech can truly earn its ticket into the dance by claiming victory in one of those final two and then one at the Georgia Dome.
It seems only fitting that their NCAA Tournament hopes will be in question until the very end. The Hokies just hope that they see a favorable outcome in the final moments of Selection Sunday.
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on a devil of a chance?
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