Throughout the first 15 games of the season, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team has found ways to win basketball games. It has been a trademark of the Hokies under Mike Young this year, with a much more talented team in 2025-26.
You can make the case that the Hokies have been surviving through a lot of their games after blowing some second-half leads. Eventually, those games are going to catch up with you. That was the case on Wednesday night at Cassell Coliseum.
Leading visiting Stanford 65-52 with 3:36 left, the Hokies completely imploded down the stretch and were outscored 17-3 and suffered a devastating one-point loss at home. It's a game that teams hanging on the NCAA Tournament bubble don't lose. You can't lose that game. When it comes to Selection Sunday, remember this one.
Virginia Tech collapses in devastating loss to Stanford
Virginia Tech had no answer for Stanford freshman Ebuka Okorie in the second half. He scored 26 of his 31 points in the final 20 minutes, including a deep 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left for the win. Not only did they finish on a 17-3 run, but the Cardinal also had an 11-0 run to pull within 67-66. After Neoklis Avdalas made one of two free throws to make it 68-66, it set the stage for Okorie to bury the game-winner.
Virginia Tech has survived struggles at the free-throw line this year; however, it came back to bite them against Stanford. They missed six free throws, and that turned out to be the difference. They also had too many empty possessions down the stretch that cost them.
Avdalas had 21 points to pace the Hokies, and Ben Hammond had 14. Amani Hansberry had another double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Jalien Bedford had seven points, and Jaden Schutt added six.
Virginia Tech falls to 12-4 overall and 1-2 in conference play. They will host California on Saturday afternoon at 4 o'clock, looking to get back on the winning track before a difficult road game at SMU next week.