Virginia Tech basketball hopes to put on quite a show on Saturday vs. No. 1 Duke

BLACKSBURG, VA. - Virginia Tech Coach Seth Greenberg has always embraced the promotional aspects that come with being the face of a college basketball program. He writes letters to the student newspaper, holds weekly lunchtime strategy sessions in a campus cafeteria and mentions the brand he's trying to build at Virginia Tech in just about every interview.

This week, as the Hokies have prepared to host both No. 1 Duke and ESPN's "College Gameday" pregame show Saturday at Cassell Coliseum, has been no different.

Greenberg penned a letter Thursday encouraging ticket holders to "pack the Cassell and create the event of all events." On Friday afternoon, he cracked jokes and held a Seth Greenberg impersonation contest, all while showing students part of his game plan for attacking the Blue Devils. Later that evening, he gave away free pizza and helped fans prepare creative posters for the next day.

If it all seems a bit over the top, it's because even as ESPN's camera set up shop on campus, Greenberg realizes just how unlikely it is that his Hokies are receiving such national acclaim.

"They took a risk putting it here, and they really took a risk after our injuries," said Greenberg, who has had just eight healthy scholarship players at his disposal since the middle of December. "I think it's a reflection of the gradual progress we're making. I don't always measure our progress just in that one weekend in March. You measure it in how you build your brand. They're not bringing 'College Gameday' to Blacksburg because of Seth Greenberg. They're bringing 'College Gameday' to Blacksburg because they think that Blacksburg has earned 'College Gameday' and that basketball is significant on campus."

Some view Saturday as perhaps a seminal moment because of what the "College Gameday" cameras did for the football team. In October 1999, Virginia Tech hosted its first "College Gameday" during an undefeated regular season that ended in the BCS title game.

Virginia Tech's success that season - and the spotlight that came along with it - kick-started the Hokies' rise in national stature. Many in the athletic department believe it could have the same sort of effect on the basketball team.

"It gives us the kind of exposure that you can't just go out and buy," said Tom Gabbard, Virginia Tech's associate athletic director for internal affairs, who also oversees the men's basketball program.

Greenberg has gone even further, calling Saturday morning's telecast "a two-hour infomercial on our university, our student body, our community and our basketball program."

The actual game has been sold out for months, and Greenberg knows potential prospects will be watching. The effect on recruiting could be twofold, as the football program will welcome a number of top high school prospects in conjunction with the event.

To top it all off, there will be a basketball game of gigantic proportions for Virginia Tech.

As they have the past three seasons, the Hokies sit firmly on the NCAA tournament bubble, in search of a marquee victory to show off come Selection Sunday. The top-ranked Blue Devils present just such an opportunity, especially with just three regular season games remaining this year.

"This is the biggest game of my career, the history of the school probably," senior Malcolm Delaney said.

Delaney was a key component the last time Virginia Tech upset a No. 1 ranked team, in January 2009 at Wake Forest. But that game had neither the hype nor the late-season ramifications this one will have, something Greenberg has worried about.

He's called several friends in the coaching profession who have previously hosted "College Gameday," asking their opinion on how involved his players should be in what takes place Saturday before the 9 p.m. tipoff.

"You've got a choice: Do you include them in it or do you shield them from it," said Greenberg, who decided to have his players attend the morning telecast before falling back into a normal routine. "Well, you can't shield them from it. It's like trying to shield them from all the bubble talk."

Added senior Jeff Allen: "It's exciting, but we can't let that get to us. We can go out and have some fun, but we got to put our game faces on after that."