The 2026-27 college basketball season officially began on Sunday when Notre Dame edged Villanova by two points. For Mike Young and the Virginia Tech men, they will host Coppin State on Tuesday night at Cassell Coliseum in what they hope will be a healthier and more successful season.
Young has added some difficult non-conference games to his team's schedule this season, but it gets started at home against an opponent that they beat by 45 points just three years ago. Before the season begins, here are three bold predictions for the Hokies this upcoming season.
1. Virginia Tech makes NCAA Tournament and avoid play-in games
Last season, the Hokies looked like an NCAA Tournament team on paper, but we quickly found out that games are won on the court, not on paper. Virginia Tech found that out the hard way once ACC play began.
Virginia Tech, which went 11-2 in its non-conference games, suffered multiple last-second conference losses, with the most gut-wrenching coming at home against Stanford and at SMU at the buzzer. Somehow, they were still on the bubble when the ACC Tournament began, but losing to Wake Forest in the first round ended their season. This season, the luck finally turns in Mike Young's favor, and the Hokies play themselves safely into the 76-team field.
2. Amani Hansberry doubles the number of double-doubles he had in 2025-26
In his first season in Blacksburg after transferring from West Virginia last winter, Amani Hansberry recorded eight double-doubles for Young. He was retained along with Tyler Johnson and Ben Hammond as the key pieces that was brought back. Now expected to have a big season, expect him to have a big breakout season for Virginia Tech.
It'll be interesting to see how many double-doubles Hansberry gets in the non-conference portion of the schedule, but it wouldn't be surprising for him to get more in ACC play this season. Sixteen double-doubles is not out of the question.
3. Virginia Tech finishes in the Top 8 of the ACC
The last couple of seasons, the Hokies have finished so low in the standings that they have had to play on the first day of the conference tournament, and in both cases, they have been bounced on the first day in overtime by Cal and Wake Forest. This season, we're predicting that the Hokies finish in the top 8 and avoid playing on the opening day.
Finishing in the top 8 would require some big wins, especially on the road, but one game they don't have to go to this season is Durham, North Carolina, to play Duke. They avoid the Blue Devils in their conference schedule, which is kind of a joke to begin with.
All in all, it's good to have college basketball back for both the men and women. Both Virginia Tech teams are teams that could be dancing in March in the expanded tournaments. After home games this week with Coppin State and Mercer, the Hokies men get a test next week against Iowa at a neutral site.
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