We are under three months away from the 2026-27 college basketball season beginning, and this season will be the first season of the new 76-team NCAA Tournament field. That gives more teams hope of getting into the field if they have been on the outside looking in.
Last season, expectations were high for Mike Young and Virginia Tech, but after an 11-2 non-conference slate, the Hokies stumbled in ACC play, losing three games in the final seconds before getting bounced in the first round of the ACC Tournament in overtime by Wake Forest.
The expanded field should help teams like Virginia Tech get into the dance, but according to Joe Lunardi of ESPN, there is a lot of work that has to be done by Mike Young and his team in the upcoming season to get on the right side of the bubble.
Virginia Tech men's basketball bleak outlook is cause for concern in August
I know it's only August, and a lot can still happen; however, given what has happened in past seasons, it's never too early to look at Lunardi's latest projections and what the Hokies need to do. In his latest projection at ESPN, Virginia Tech is in the "Next Four Out", teams 81-84. They weren't even in the "First Four Out.'' That's not good.
Young and his staff got a ton of retention and some key retention with forwards Amani Hansberry and Tyler Johnson, along with guard Ben Hammond, are all coming back. Some veteran additions through the Transfer Portal should help as well. However, when all is said and done, it's going to come down to the results on the court, like it did last year. You could make the case in 2025-26 that the Hokies roster was more than good enough to get into the dance. The results said otherwise.
So what has Young done? This year, the non-conference schedule has been beefed up a little bit with non-conference games against Iowa and West Virginia, while playing Ole Miss at home as part of the ACC/SEC Challenge. They will also take part in the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic in November. There are certainly résumé-building opportunities available before ACC play begins.
As far as the ACC schedule goes, the Hokies will not play Duke this season, which takes a résumé-building opportunity away from them. Again, it's only August, but the writing is on the wall, and the results on the court this winter will be the most important. It's never too early to look ahead.
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