ACC Preview #12 – Virginia Tech

#1 – UNC || #2 – NC State || #3 – Wake Forest || #4 – Virginia || #5 – Clemson||#6 – Miami || #7 – Louisville || #8 – Pitt || #9 – Georgia Tech || #10 – Syracuse || #11 – Boston College

What to make of the Hokies? 

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They lost two major pieces from last season. Tobi Lawal is now with the Dallas Mavericks, and Neoklis Avdalas, most unfortunately, is a Tar Heel. 

Avdalas scored 33 points in his second game, along with 5 rebounds and 6 assists, in an overtime win against Providence. He was pretty productive until he suffered an ankle injury against Virginia in a triple overtime win on New Year’s Eve, and that really changed the trajectory of his season. 

What can you do? Injuries happen. But did it hurt the Hokies? 

Yes – a lot. And he wasn’t the only one, as we’ll see. 

Jailen Bedford is also gone, along with former Blue Devil Jaden Schutt. 

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Virginia Tech finished the season 19-13 overall and 8-10 in the ACC, good for an 11th place tie with SMU.

Mike Young is a gifted coach. He beat UNC twice while he was at Wofford, and nearly knocked Kentucky out of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. 

Yet, things probably haven’t gone as expected in Blacksburg. 

His best season was in 2021-22, when Virginia Tech upset Duke to win the ACC Tournament. 

He’s made the NCAA Tournament twice, but hasn’t won a game. He’s made the NIT twice, and won one game.

In Young’s defense, he arrived at Virginia Tech just in time for Covid, and not long after, free agency was essentially started in college basketball. 

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We’ve come to respect Virginia Tech, not least of all their homecourt advantage in Cassell Coliseum, but the basketball program has some real obstacles to overcome. 

First, football will be the priority, and second, the Hokies are well down the ladder in NIL money. 

In the last four seasons, Young has won 19 games three times, and had one 13-19 season. Our sense is that while he’s well-liked and respected by his peers and…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/acc-preview-12-virginia-tech-105400688.html

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Publish date : 2026-08-18 10:54:00

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