The first major ACC showdown of the 2025-26 Virginia Tech Men's Basketball season has arrived as the 11-2 Hokies face off against No. 21 Virginia in a rivalry New Year's Eve clash that has stakes that extend well beyond the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The Cavaliers have made significant improvements in their first season under Ryan Odom and are well on their way to the NCAA Tournament while the Hokies are much improved thanks to a significant talent upgrade headlined by Neoklis Avdalas and Amani Hansberry that has the Hokies in the NCAA Tournament hunt.
Last year's matchups felt like an exception to what had become the norm of VT-UVA matchups mattering in the national college basketball picture. That changes back to normal this year with this being a major matchup and a significant opportunity for the Hokies to pick up a quality win and push themselves inside many projected brackets as 2025 comes to an end.
So with that in mind, let's dive into what to watch for the Hokies vs the Cavaliers.
Virginia Tech's Injury Issues and the Challenges They Create
Virginia Tech will be without sophomore wing Tyler Johnson for this game after he suffered an injury in Tech's overtime victory against Elon. On a more encouraging front, both Tobi Lawal and Antonio Dorn are questionable with Tech certainly hoping at least one of them will be available to provide some reinforcement to Tech's frontcourt.
Tech could use Lawal back for a lot of reasons beyond him being a high-level forward as shown by his strong start before injuries when he was averaging 12.8 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game while shooting 50.0% from the field and 75.8% from the free-throw line. Tech also could really use Lawal to match up against UVA's 6'9'' Belgian star Thijs De Ridder, who is leading UVA with 16.1 points per game while shooting 54.6% from the field including 43.8% from three-point range.
Lawal would be an ideal size matchup to guard UVA's versatile forward while Johnson would have also been a solid option given his defensive strengths and his ability to guard stretch fours like De Ridder. If Tech doesn't have Lawal in addition to Johnson, the Hokies will likely be forced to either use Amani Hansberry at times to give them size or put someone like Jaden Schutt on him in smaller lineups.
There is also the possibility that Tech could look to 6'8'' PG Neoklis Avdalas to take on De Ridder defensively to give them the size and athleticism that they lack without Lawal and Johnson at the four.
Additionally, if Tech is without at least one of Lawal and Dorn, it'll likely force the Hokies to lean more on freshman C Christian Gurdak. He has shown promise averaging 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds in 13.2 minutes per game, but Tech will need him to deliver 20ish quality minutes against a NCAA Tournament-caliber opponent, something he hasn't shown yet in his young career.
If Tech is without both Lawal and Dorn in addition to Johnson, they may have to get some good minutes from freshman Sin'Cere Jones, who has only played in eight games and averages less than six minutes per game. Tech may have to go small at times too though given how the offense has run better when Neoklis Avdalas is on ball than off it, they may be wise to bring Hammond in off-the-ball similar to what Tech did several years ago with Seth Allen working as a small, off-ball guard.
Regardless, injuries will certainly create some challenges for the Hokies today, even against UVA team that is without their best three-point shooter in Jacari White.
The European Influx Takes Center Stage
College basketball's European influx will take center stage plenty of times during ACC play, but none may be more notable than today with Neoklis Avdalas facing off against Thijs De Ridder.
Avdalas is considered the better NBA Draft prospect with plenty of first round grades while De Ridder is an older European addition at 22 who could be more of a second round pick/summer league type player once he decides to move on from UVA.
In the interim, both Avdalas and De Ridder have looked the part of All-ACC players so far as Avdalas has been ACC Rookie of the Week twice while averaging 14.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists with shooting splits of 44/37/68. Meanwhile, De Ridder has arguably been better statistically averaging 16.1 points and 6.0 rebounds with shooting splits of 55/44/63.
Those aren't the only European imports as both teams have German centers with Johann Grunloh starting and averaging 9.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks in just over 23 minutes per game this season while Antonio Dorn has only had a small rotational averaging 3.9 points and 2.2 rebounds in 12.6 minutes per game this season, battling Gurdak for the primary big man bench spot.
Both teams will need their stars at their peak level in this matchup, especially the Hokies who have been at their best offensively when Avdalas is running the show.
Offense Will Dominate
This isn't your just-graduated last year sibling's UVA as the Cavaliers are ranked as the 12th best offense in the country by KenPom. The pack line defense isn't the focal point in Charlottesville anymore under Ryan Odom and the Hokies will have to be ready for an offense-first UVA team that can more than just hang with teams if it becomes a track meet.
Even without sharpshooter Jacari White, four of UVA's top six leading healthy scorers are shooting over 40% from three-point range per game this season. Meanwhile, Jaden Schutt is the only healthy Hokie who is shooting over 40% from three-point range this season.
Tech's perimeter defense will certainly be tested by a UVA offense that is 16th in the country in three-point shooting percentage and making 39.6% of their three-point attempts. The good news is that Tech's perimeter defense has been strong so far as they are holding teams to 29.8% from three-point range which ranks 52nd nationally.
UVA will certainly get their points today, which means a less efficient VT offense has to maximize their opportunities and limit turnovers in this game. Tech has done that very well this season, averaging only 9.3 turnovers per game which ranks 10th in the country, while allowing opponents to have only 4.5 steals per game which is best in America.
Offensive rebounding factors into that too with the Hokies facing a potential massive challenge without Johnson for sure, and potentially without Lawal and Dorn as well. The Cavaliers are 11th in the country in offensive rebounds, averaging 14.6 per game while VT is averaging only 11.4 per game. On a slight positive for Tech, both teams are allowing 12.0 offensive rebounds per game so second chance opportunities could be plentiful both ways.
Limiting live ball turnovers will be crucial for a Tech team that has been less efficient than the Cavaliers this season. If they can generate extra shot opportunities compared to the Cavaliers, they will have a great shot at the upset. They also may need Jaden Schutt and Neoklis Avdalas to have strong games from deep.
Prediction
This will be a tricky matchup for the Hokies if their frontcourt ends up being without Lawal, Dorn, and wing Tyler Johnson. Amani Hansberry will need to have a big game down low and have to find ways to score against a very good shot blocker in Johann Grunloh while Tech has to find ways to generate turnovers.
This may be one of those games where the Hokies need Neoklis Avdalas to show why NBA scouts believe the Greek point guard is not only a first round picks in 2026 but also a potential lottery pick. Tech is also going to need wings like Jailen Bedford and Jaden Schutt to step up and deliver some big shots to open things up for Hansberry down low and for Avdalas and Ben Hammond to be able to drive and get to the rim.
Tech also needs to rely on a raucous Cassell Coliseum to try to help generate turnovers and create an edge in volume of shot attempts.
If Lawal was available, I would go with Tech to pull off the upset in this game but with it being uncertain at this time, I think UVA wins a tight one with Tech having a hard time matching up with De Ridder and other shooters like Chance Mallory and Sam Lewis stepping up in Jacari White's absence. However, this should certainly be a compelling matchup that generates more buzz for the end of the regular season rematch in Charlottesville with both teams hopefully being fully healthy at that point unlike today.
