16. Virginia Tech Hokies - 6-8 (1-2)
The season has been an uphill climb for the Hokies, ever since Temple transfer Hysier Miller was made ineligible to play for them. The lack of offense and the difficult first-half schedule racked up losses to this point.
They also played two of the top teams in the ACC in Pittsburgh and Duke, with both ending up in losses. Virginia Tech looked to be on its way to another defeat, trailing Miami by double-digits in the second half. However, a big comeback by them allowed the Hokies to get an 86-85 home win for its first ACC victory.
It was a career game for the frontcourt. Center Mylyjael Poteat had 25 points on 10/16 FG, while Toibu Lawal had 22 on 8/10 FG, both of which are career-high scoring games. Ben Hammond, who has now taken over at point guard, dished out eight assists in the comeback win.
Virginia Tech now heads out west in the next week, taking on Cal and Stanford. It’s the first road trip for the traditional ACC teams so we’ll see how it works out for the Hokies and the new members. This team has shown they can be competitive but they’ll be underdogs in many games going forward.