2023-2024: 19-15, 10-10 ACC (8th)
2024-2025: 9-12, 4-6 ACC (10th)

Mike Young and the Hokies have been able to replicate their success from the 2021-2022 season, when they went on their miraculous run as the No. 7 seed to win their first ACC Tournament Championship in program history. Since then, Virginia Tech has gone 19-15 in each of the last two seasons, finishing 11th and then 8th in the ACC standings. This year, the Hokies have taken another step back and are currently 9-12 overall and 4-6 in ACC play, sitting in a three-way tie for 10th place in the conference standings.

Virginia Tech opened the season with three unimpressive wins and then lost the next six games, five of which came against major conference opponents. The team’s only wins since then have come against North Carolina A&T, Navy, Miami, Cal, and NC State. Those last two wins over the Golden Bears and Wolfpack came by three points apiece and then the Hokies have since dropped three in a row to Wake Forest, Georgia Tech, and Clemson.

Mike Young’s squad experienced a great deal of roster turnover last offseason, losing its top five scorers, including the backcourt duo of Sean Pedulla and Hunter Cattoor. 6’9″ graduate center Mylyjael Poteat is the lone holdover who played a significant role for the Hokies last season. Poteat is the team’s second-leading scorer at 10.0 points per game and also averages 3.9 rebounds per game. Virginia Tech has become front-court centric, as the team’s leading scorer is 6’8″ forward and VCU transfer Tobi Lawal, who averages 12.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game and is one of four players to rank in the top 20 in both scoring and rebounding in ACC games. Lawal has had four double-doubles this season and shoots 59.6% from the floor and 45.0% from beyond the arc.

In the back court, Virginia Tech starts a pair of freshman guards in 5’11” Fairfax native Ben Hammond (4.8 ppg, 2.0 apg) and 6’5″ freshman Tyler Johnson (6.3 ppg, 5.2 rpg). They are joined by Duke transfer Jaden Schutt, who is third on the team in scoring at 8.5 points per game and is the team’s most prolific three-point shooter at 35.2% on nearly six attempts per game. Virginia Tech’s best three-point shooter is College of Charleston transfer Ben Burnham, a 6’7″ forward who shoots 45.8% from three and averages just under seven points per game.

Returning sophomore guard Brandon Rechsteiner has been in and out of the starting lineup. The 6’1″ guard leads the team in assists (3.1 apg) and averages 7.0 points per game and shoots 31.6% from three-point range. Sophomore guards Jaydon Young (6.7 ppg, 33.3% 3pt FG) and Rodney Brown Jr. (4.3 ppg, 40.6% 3pt FG) also play significant roles off the bench.

Virginia Tech ranks 16th in the ACC in scoring offense (69.8 ppg) and 15th in team field goal percentage (43.9%), but the Hokies are also sixth in the league in three-point shooting (36.3%).

Front Court Battle
Virginia Tech leans on its front court trio of Lawal, Poteat, and Burnham to do nearly half of the team’s scoring. Virginia’s front court has been a work in progress all season, but Blake Buchanan, Jacob Cofie, and Anthony Robinson have had better performances recently. One thing to look out for is the status of Elijah Saunders, who missed the Miami game with an injury. Saunders is UVA’s preferred option at the four and the Cavaliers had to get creative without him at Miami. The Hurricanes didn’t have the bigs to fully capitalize, but Virginia Tech has the personnel with Poteat’s force in the paint and Lawal and Burnham’s ability to spread the floor to take advantage of Virginia’s front court if Saunders is out again and if the rest of UVA’s bigs can’t make up the slack.

And as a side note regarding personnel: Andrew Rohde also missed that Miami game for Virginia. The Cavaliers managed to win without him, but they’ll have a better chance against the Hokies if he is able to return to the floor.

ACC Standings Check
Postseason national tournament aspirations are pretty much out the window for both of these teams, but neither the Hoos nor the Hokies want to be among those three teams who miss the ACC Tournament. With these teams just one game apart in the standings (Virginia Tech tied for 10th at 4-6, Virginia tied for 13th at 3-7) and having only a few teams below them, the two games Virginia and Virginia Tech play in the last six weeks of the season will go a long way towards determining who stays above that 16th place cut line.

Commonwealth Clash
Virginia currently leads Virginia Tech in the 2024-2025 Commonwealth Clash 5.5-1.0 But this competition is far from over, with the Hokies likely to get at least a few points in the spring. Given the fact that the Cavaliers haven’t won in Blacksburg since 2020, it’s pivotal that they defend home court at John Paul Jones Arena.

These teams are pretty evenly matched on paper and I expect this game to be a close one that comes down to the wire. For the fourth year in a row, I predict Virginia and Virginia Tech will split the regular season series of the Commonwealth Clash. I don’t see the Hoos taking down the Hokies at Cassell Coliseum, but Virginia will outlast Virginia Tech on Saturday at JPJ.

Score prediction: Virginia Tech 55, Virginia 59

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