Needing a win to keep their fading NCAA Tournament hopes alive, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team got off to about as bad a start as possible against Virginia on Saturday afternoon in Charlottesville. They fell behind 17-3 early, and despite cutting the deficit to two points in the second half, the Hokies fell, 76-72.
The loss all but popped the Hokies' bubble from the 68-team field. They would have to win at least two or three games in the ACC Tournament next week to even be considered. It was another close loss in 2025-26 for Virginia Tech in a season that has been filled with them in conference play. Three losses in January in the final five seconds have them in the current position they're in now.
At 19-12, a miracle is going to be needed to get in the NCAA Tournament field. That's too bad because this is a team that should be in the NCAA Tournament. After the loss to the Cavaliers, Young dropped a quote that opened some eyes.
Virginia Tech coach Mike Young asks an honest question after losing to Virginia
After losing and splitting the season series with Virginia, Young opened up his postgame press conference and asked a question out loud,
"No. 33 (Ugonna Onyenso), come on man,'' said Young. "Give me a break. Really? Kid makes two huge threes. Come on... What the f*** am I doing wrong, man?"
The veteran coach is frustrated. Not only with the loss to Virginia, but also with the way the season has unfolded over the last two months in conference play. They finished 8-10 and were a couple of plays away from 11 or 12 wins. By a few plays, I'm talking about making free throws and protecting the ball in the final seconds of games. All Division 1 college basketball players should be able to do. Especially with NIL.
Young isn't going to throw his kids under the bus, ever. He'll take the blame for everything 100 times out of 100. When he asked what the f**ck am I doing wrong, he was referring to Virginia's Ugonna Onyenso making two 3-pointers in the game.
Look, Young is a good coach and a great man. However, when push comes to shove, he has a team that wilts under pressure and can't finish games. Sure, you want to blame that on him, go ahead. However, there is no doubt that three or four plays that turn out differently this year, and the feeling around the program is different, and Young isn't asking frustrating questions. He's going to be back next year, and hopefully things turn out differently.