After a disappointing start to the football season, many Hokie fans are already shifting their focus from the gridiron to the hardwood.
A month ago, Virginia Tech unveiled its non-conference schedule featuring a trip to the Bahamas to take part in the eight-team Battle 4 Atlantis, a matchup at South Carolina for the ACC/SEC challenge, a trip to Uncasville, Connecticut for the “Basketball Hall of Fame Tip Off” against Providence, and an intriguing home game against George Mason.
On Tuesday, September 9th the ACC announced Virginia Tech’s conference schedule in the second year of cross-country ACC hoops. The Hokies clawed their way up to a middle-of-the-pack finish in the ACC standings with a 8-12 conference record, but figure to be much stronger this year with a completely revamped roster.
Unlike the last few years with ACC openers in early December, the Hokies begin conference play with the twice-annual “Commonwealth Clash” on either December 30th or 31st. Last season, Virginia Tech split the season series with Virginia, strangely winning in John Paul Jones Arena, but falling short at the buzzer in Cassell Coliseum.
Much like their rival, the Cavaliers bring an almost unrecognizable roster into their 2025-26 campaign and project to finish well inside the upper half of the ACC. The second installment of the “Commonwealth Clash” is fittingly the season finale, just three days before day one of the ACC tournament in Charlotte.
The only other team the Hokies face twice is Wake Forest, fresh off a fourth place ACC finish. The Demon Deacons won their only faceoff last season, 72-63 in Blacksburg, but Virginia Tech leads the series history 39-35. Their first matchup will be on January 3rd in Winston-Salem, in the Hokies first game of 2026.
After making the West Coast trip to take on Stanford and California last year, the Hokies are spared of such a trip this year, but will fly out to Dallas to take on SMU on either January 13th or 14th. Virginia Tech hosts the Cardinal and the Golden Bears on January 6th or 7th and January 10th, respectively.
Virginia Tech will host Duke on January 31st and travel to Chapel Hill for a meeting with the North Carolina Tar Heels on February 28th. The Hokies look for their first win against either of the blue bloods since the 2022-23 season - a year in which they defeated both.
Virginia Tech will take on four of last season’s top five teams on the road, including a January 24th matchup with Louisville, a likely preseason top 10 overall team, in the KFC Yum! Center and a battle with the Clemson Tigers in Littlejohn Coliseum a couple weeks later.
After a brutal season a year ago, Mike Young upgraded talent through the transfer portal and international recruiting. Highlighted by arguably biggest recruit in program history in five-star Neokils Avdalas, the expectations will likely be to return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since their 2021-22 campaign when they won the ACC Tournament, given the NIL infusion that has them in a more workable state, even if they are nowhere near the ACC's upper half in men's basketball NIL.
Virginia Tech ACC Men's Basketball Schedule
Dec 30/31 vs Virginia
Jan 3 @ Wake Forest
Jan 6/7 vs Stanford
Jan 10 vs California
Jan 13/14 @ SMU
Jan 17 vs Notre Dame
Jan 20/21 @ Syracuse
Jan 24 @ Louisville
Jan 27/28 vs Georgia Tech
Jan 31 vs Duke
Feb 7 @ NC State
Feb 10/11 @ Clemson
Feb 14 vs Florida State
Feb 17/18 @ Miami
Feb 21 vs Wake Forest
Feb 28 @ North Carolina
Mar 3/4 vs Boston College
Mar 7 @ Virginia
Mar 10-14 ACC Tournament (Charlotte)
