We are entering the month of February and the Virginia Tech women’s basketball team is in the thick of the ACC schedule and currently sitting in the middle of the pack at 5-5 in the conference and 14-7 overall. Picked to finish 12th this season, the Hokies can finish higher than that with a good February.
Was January perfect? No, but one thing is clear for Megan Duffy in her first season in Blacksburg, she’s building a program quickly that will be very competitive in the ACC. They are not taking as big of a step back as a lot of people thought they would. Does it end up in an NCAA Tournament berth? Who knows, but they’ll be in the thick of everything right up until Selection Sunday. Here are three things that we learned in January about the Hokies.
Building a tournament résumé
Despite losing their last two games, the Hokies are building a rather good tournament résumé. Their one loss that could be considered a “bad loss” was Virginia, but their other losses are to teams to are going to likely be tournament teams when all is said and done. On the bubble with the right now according to Charlie Creme and his bracketology at ESPN is Iowa, who beat the Hokies in November.
One win that they picked up was at Georgia Tech when Virginia Tech handed the Yellow Jackets their first loss of the season. There are some games coming up that would be considered “bad losses”, but there are also some wins that can improve their resume even more.
Virginia Tech gets balanced scoring nightly
Virginia Tech lacks the star power it had the last couple of seasons offensively with Elizabeth Kitley and Georgia Amoore. We knew that coming into the season. If the Hokies were going to have success this season, then they would need balanced scoring nightly and that’s exactly what they’re getting.
Four of their five starters are currently averaging double-digits with Utah transfer Lani White on the outside at 9.5 points a night and closing in as the fifth. It seems every game there is someone who steps up and leads them in scoring or makes some big shots. That’s the recipe for 2024-25.
ACC is LOADED with talented teams
I know I’m not breaking any news here, but the ACC is loaded again this season. Notre Dame is a legit National Championship contender, North Carolina State is loaded with star power, Florida State can score from any position, while Duke and North Carolina are legit top 16 seeds come March. Let’s not forget Georgia Tech and Louisville.
Unlike the men, the women have done well as a conference in the non-conference portion of the schedule earlier this year and they should have a handful of schools hosting the first and second rounds this season. It would be very surprising if there was not at least one ACC school in the Final Four and it wouldn’t be surprising to see multiple.