Stop me if you have heard this one before. Coaches absolutely hate looking ahead to future opponents let alone talk about it. Virginia Tech basketball is squarely in this situation as we roll into week 2 of the young season. This will be a unique season for the Hokies as the transfer portal has given this, and boy has that portal taketh.
It is a huge bunch of unknown faces and in case you forgot, the Hokies play in the uber-competitive ACC. The Hokies have opened the season at 2-0 but the competition is nothing like they will face the rest of the way. The Hokies dominated in their season-opener against Delaware State 83-60.
It was a good testament to Young’s playbook and it was interesting to see so many new faces wearing Chicago maroon. The Hokies then rolled to a 19-point win over South Carolina Upstate on Friday night at Cassell Coliseum. Now before you try and get a master’s degree at this mostly internet school, this is but a warmup.
The Hokies host another game on Monday, Nov. 11 against Winthrop. Slightly better competition, but the real test will come later in the week. On Friday, Nov. 15, the Hokies will face off against the Penn State Nittany Lions out of the Big Ten on a neutral court.
The Hokies will take the short drive up to Baltimore to face Penn State in the 2024 Hall of Fame Series in Baltimore. It is part of a doubleheader that will also feature Villanova vs. Virginia. This will be the first test for the new-look Hokies against a quality opponent. We shall get a great barometer of the Hokies’ forecast for this basketball season and it should include a balanced scoring effort from the entire roster from the starters to the bench players.