Slowly but surely, the non-conference schedule is becoming clearer for the Virginia Tech men's basketball team for the 2025-26 season. The Hokies know their home/away slate for ACC play, which will be announced at a later date with times and actual dates. The non-conference slate, however, has had two games released over the last 24 hours, including what looks like a spicy matchup with an in-state foe.
On Wednesday, it was announced that the Hokies were going to host Elon on Dec. 20 in a non-conference game, but on Thursday, Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports reported that Virginia Tech will host another non-conference game on Dec. 6 at Cassel Coliseum against an up-and-coming program in the Commonwealth.
Virginia Tech men's basketball will host George Mason in December
Virginia Tech will host George Mason in Blacksburg on Dec. 6, according to Rothstein, which is a very spicy matchup for the Hokies. This past season, the Patriots went 27-9 overall and 15-3 in the Atlantic-10, losing the conference championship game to VCU in a classic contest. George Mason's roster this season boasted two former Hokies, Jalen Hayes and Darius Maddox.
Young will be bringing back a better roster than he had last season, at least on paper anyway, after he vowed following his team's first-round elimination by California in the ACC Tournament. Virginia Tech got some key retention with Ben Hammond, Jaden Schutt, and Tyler Johnson coming back, while Tobi Lawal withdrew from the NBA Draft process to come back, and Neoklis Avdalas from Greece withdrew from the NBA Draft and committed to Young.
When the dust settles on the season and if the Hokies can work their way onto the bubble for the NCAA Tournament, a win over George Mason in December would be a very nice piece on their résumé. Nothing like a non-conference battle in early December against an in-state foe to get the juices pumping before conference play starts.