It was not the ending to the 2024-25 regular season that the Virginia Tech men’s basketball team was hoping for last week against North Carolina and Clemson. Two teams that were desperate for wins to either get into the 68-team field in the case of UNC or for seeding in the case of Clemson. Tar Heels put their foot on the gas late in the first half and never took it off, while the Hokies hung around with the Tigers with a better second half fight.
Now Mike Young and his team will turn their attention to the ACC Tournament in Charlotte, which for Virginia Tech in the first round is against a first-year conference member in California. Last season North Carolina State went on a magical run to win the conference tourney with an unforgettable run. Can someone repeat that magic this year?
How to watch Virginia Tech vs. California ACC Tournament game
Virginia Tech will play the middle game of the opening day against the Golden Bears at 4:30 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte in a rematch of January’s game that was played at Cal that the Hokies won, 71-68, after building a double digit second half lead only to survive a furious rally from California.
The winner of this game gets Stanford, the seventh-seed, in the second round on Wednesday night. In all honesty, despite having to play on the first day of the tournament, this is a better draw for the Hokies than drawing a Day 1 bye, playing in the 8-9 game and then getting Duke in the quarterfinals if they won that game. A deep run is unlikely for Young’s team, but their chances are better with the current seed they have than getting a bye on Tuesday.
Virginia Tech has actually played better on the road this season in ACC play than they have at home. A neutral court game in Charlotte, could bode well for the Hokies who will be looking to pick a 14th win on the season, something that didn’t seem possible after watching this team through the first two months of the season.