Instant Takeaways From Virginia Tech’s 88-54 Rout of Coppin State

BLACKSBURG – Virginia Tech men’s basketball rolled to an 88-54 win over Coppin State Tuesday at Cassell Coliseum. Here are my three immediate takeaways from Tuesday’s season-opening rout:

No. 1: Jaylen Curry shined for Virginia Tech, though turnovers are an area for improvement.

The Oklahoma State transfer, who spent one season with the Cowboys after two years at UMass, recorded a team-high 19 points in Tuesday’s opener on 6-of-9 shooting from the field, including a 3-of-6 mark from beyond the arc. Curry committed a game-high six turnovers, however, accounting for half of Virginia Tech’s 10 turnovers on the night.

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Curry averaged 10.1 points per game last season at Oklahoma State, highlighted by a career-high 30-point performance. While Tuesday’s outing didn’t quite reach those heights, it served as a promising introduction to ACC basketball for the Hokies’ newest offensive contributor.

“He’s a good basketball player,” Young said. “I don’t know in 41 years of coaching that I’ve had a point guard with one assist and six turnovers. That’s disgusting. He made three [3-point] shots. He’s a good player, but we’ve got to have better point guard play.

“We will, and he understands. But just atrocious, a couple of the turnovers. He gets loose and just not as tight as a Virginia Tech point guard must be.”

As a team. Virginia Tech was an even 13-of-28 (46.4%) from deep. Four Hokies buried two or more 3-pointers, paced by guard Ben Hammond’s four.

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No. 2: Speaking of Hammond, the guard was a force on both sides.

Hammond was a defensive pest throughout the evening, pickpocketing the ball on seven sequences. His seven steals set a new career-high and were only two short of the single-game program record for steals (eight). It’s the third game in the last two seasons (Syracuse and Virginia in 2025-26; six and five steals, respectively) where he’s ended the game with at least five steals.

“I would just say my anticipation,” Hammond said on his ability to garner steals. “Just…

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Publish date : 2026-11-04 04:03:00

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