Just a couple of weeks ago, things were trending in the right direction for Virginia Tech men's basketball coach Mike Young and his team. The Hokies completed an 11-2 record in their non-conference slate with losses coming to Saint Mary's and VCU in the Battle 4 Atlantis Thanksgiving Weekend.
Between their trip to the Bahamas and hosting Virginia to begin ACC play on New Year's Eve, Virginia Tech picked up a road win over South Carolina in the ACC/SEC Challenge, then handed George Mason their lone loss in mid-December at home in a non-conference game. They survived overtime battles with Providence and Elon and were trending in the right direction for the NCAA Tournament.
On New Year's Eve, the Hokies outlasted Virginia at home for a triple overtime win before things hit a major roadblock. Virginia Tech suffered a road loss at Wake Forest three days later, then dropped a devastating game at home to Stanford last Wednesday night. They bounced back to survive California at home, winning by three. However, the loss to Stanford did some damage, and Joe Lunardi of ESPN has the Hokies heading in the wrong direction for the NCAA Tournament in March.
Virginia Tech gets a clear message from ESPN about NCAA Tournament chances in mid-January
Lunardi released his latest NCAA Tournament bracketology, and he has Virginia Tech falling to the "Next Four Out." The Hokies are certainly heading in the wrong direction and need to turn things around beginning Wednesday night at SMU.
There is a silver lining for Young and his team. It's that the ACC is much stronger this year than it was last year, and it gives them more opportunities for Quad 1 and 2 wins. The problem is, those won't be easy wins to get. The Hokies are dealing with injuries to key players, and playing on the road this year is going to be difficult. That's why their devastating loss to Stanford last Wednesday, up 13 points with 3:36 left, is going to be a tough one to swallow in March.
A win over SMU on Wednesday night in Dallas would go a long way toward moving back up in the right direction. If not, then things get really murky in terms of making the 68-team field in mid-March.