Wednesday night, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team hosted Vanderbilt in the annual ACC/SEC Challenge at Cassell Coliseum. When the Commodores got the Blacksburg, it marked the return of two former Hokies, MJ Collins and Tyler Nickel.
Last season the Hokies men's basketball roster was gutted by the transfer portal when Collins, Nickel, Sean Pedulla, and Lynn Kidd left for new programs in 2024-25. It just so happened that both Collins and Nickel ended up together in Nashville with first-year coach Mark Byington.
MJ Collins gets revenge on Virginia Tech Wednesday night
So far this season, Nickel, who came off the bench for Mike Young last season, has been off to a strong start in the starting lineup scoring the ball for Vanderbilt. In his return to Virginia Tech, he didn't have a great night scoring just six points in the Commodores, 80-64, win. It was Collins that sole the show on this night.
Collins finished with 15 points off the bench in 23 minutes, going 5-for-12 from the field and 3-for-9 from behind the arc as Vanderbilt improved to 8-1 on the season. After the game, the former Hokie revealed that this return to Blacksburg was personal for both Collins and Nickel.
"This was personal for me and TNick," Collins said. "I was familiar with a lot of the team that was out there, the players."
His coach knew before the game that his new guard was in for a good night before he took to the court around 9 o'clock.
“I could tell he had a look in his eye,” Byington said, “I knew he was gonna be aggressive. With his aggressiveness, he was making plays and making shots for us.”
You have to think that Collins and Nickel both enjoyed the return to Vanderbilt's campus after the 14-point win over their former school. Despite Nickel struggling, Collins was up to the challenge to pick up his team and teammate.