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Mark Berman back here in Blacksburg, where the Virginia Tech men's basketball team saw its season end with an 81-72 loss to Ole Miss in the NIT quarterfinals

Ole Miss, not Tech, will be off to the semifinals in NYC

The Hokies were outrebounded a whopping 46-23. Dwayne Curtis had 17 points and 11 boards, and fellow senior Kenny Willliams had 10 points and 11 boards.

"We had to get ready for a physical game, and it seemed like we didn't respond," said Deron Washington, who had 23 points. "Those are some real big guys. .... They were pushing us out. It was a little tougher because we're an athletic team. We don't have that much size. When the guy can just push in from underneath the basket, it's pretty tough to get rebounds."

"A lot of that has to do with their scheme," coach Seth Greenberg said. "We're stepping out on those ball screens and give those guys angles to get to the offensive glass.

"When we stepped out on them, they get penetration. ... The guy that's rotating back has a hard time getting inside to block out and they're just pushing us underneath the basket. And those guys are fourth- and fifth-year seniors. We're rebounding agains them with a sophomore and two freshmen.

"We weren't getting the loose balls and we weren't rebounding the basketball. They were just a little quicker and a little more aggressive."

Ole Miss had 16 offensive boards.

"They were shooting the ball and the big guys or whoever were getting rebounds and scoring," Washington said. "It made it hard for us to get out and run."

It was Washington's Tech swan song.

"It's pretty tough, knowing my career is over here," he said. "It was a pretty fun journey. ... It's been a fun ride. I'm going to miss it."

Ole Miss shot 49.2 percent from the field - the highest percentage by a VT foe since UNC shot 50 percent in Chapel Hill last month

Tech shot just 39.7 percent from the field. AD Vassallo had 16 points but was just 6-of-21 from the field, including 4-of-13 from 3-point range. Tech was 9-of-28 from 3-point range.

"We settled a little bit against the zone," Greenberg said. "We got some pretty good looks. We shot a couple too quick. AD got good looks.

"We didn't do a good enough job of sealing that middle guy in the zone and sticking it in there."

Ole Miss was 8-of-19 from 3-point range. Guards Chris Warren and David Huertas combined for 38 points and 8 treys. Huertas also had seven boards.

"We didn't do a very good job on Warren," Greenberg said.

Ole Miss shot 64.3 percent from the field in the second half.

Tech again played in front of a near-capacity crowd; 9.615 fans turned out.

"The atmosphere in there was great," Greenberg said. "That probably bothered me the most. I feel like we let those people down."

Game story and column in paper Thursday and online Thursday.

And in other Tech news, Angela Tincher no-hit the Olympic softball team in Oklahoma City, outdueling Jennie Finch for a 1-0 win. Wow!