Somehow, the Virginia Tech men's basketball team is still on the NCAA Tournament bubble. The 18-10 Hokies are coming off a bye this past week and have been off since a rout of Wake Forest at Cassell Coliseum last Saturday afternoon. The bye week, you could say, came at the right time.
Virginia Tech is still waiting to get sophomore forward Tyler Johnson back from an injury he suffered back in December. Virginia Tech is 7-8 in ACC play, and all 15 games have been played without Johnson. There is a chance that they can get him back on Saturday night when they visit Chapel Hill to face North Carolina.
Virginia Tech men's basketball faces big opportunity at UNC
Despite everything that has happened since conference play began, the opportunity is still there for the Hokies to get on the right side of the bubble. Many believe a win over North Carolina or Virginia on the road, as well as beating Boston College next week at home, gets them close to the win needed in the ACC Tournament. That is a tall ask for a Hokies team that has battled some good teams on the road, tough, but came up short.
Both UNC and Virginia are safely in the field and would be massive wins if Tech can get one. This game is also big in terms of seeding for the ACC Tournament. Right now, the Hokies would be playing on the first day of the tournament again, which isn't good. They would need a couple of wins, along with help in other results, to avoid playing on Day 1 next month.
If the Hokies can get Johnson back, that will be a huge lift in what is going to be an extremely difficult environment. A big underdog against the Tar Heels, Virginia Tech is a desperate team that won't have to deal with UNC star freshman Caleb Wilson, who is out with an injury.