Virginia Tech Hokies Men's Basketball
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team is an
NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...
college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...
team competing in the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
. Home games are played at
Cassell Coliseum Cassell Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States, that opened in 1962. It is home to the Virginia Tech Hokies men's and women's basketball teams, wrestling team, and volleyball team. It currently seats 8,925 for bas ...
, located on
Virginia Tech The Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, commonly referred to as Virginia Tech (VT), is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States ...
's campus in Blacksburg,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
. The Hokies have made the NCAA tournament 13 times, the most recent appearance coming in
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
. They have reached the Sweet Sixteen twice, in
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...
and
2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...
. They advanced to the Elite Eight once, in 1967. The Hokies won the ACC Tournament title in
2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...
, the
Metro Conference The Metropolitan Collegiate Athletic Conference, popularly known as the Metro Conference, was an NCAA Division I athletics conference, so named because its six charter members were all in urban metropolitan areas, though its later members di ...
tournament title in 1979, the
Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
regular season championship in 1959–60, and two
National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
titles in
1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...
and
1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...
.


History


Early years, Southern Conference, Independent

The Hokies' first intercollegiate basketball game was played January 22, 1909, resulting in a 33–26 win over Emory & Henry College. During the 1909–10 campaign, the Hokies completed the only undefeated season in school history by posting an 11–0 mark. From 1921 to 1965, Virginia Tech was a member of the
Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
. In 45 years, Tech won one regular season conference championship. That was in 1960, when under coach Coach Chuck Noe the Hokies hit the 20-win mark for the first time. That team lost to West Virginia, led by
Jerry West Jerry Alan West (May 28, 1938 – June 12, 2024) was an American basketball player and executive. He played professionally for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), and is widely regarded as one of the greatest ...
, in the conference tournament championship game, and therefore was not eligible to advance to the NCAA tournament. Tech left the Southern Conference in 1965, and in its first season as an independent went to the NIT for the first time in school history, posting an overall mark of 19–5 after losing to Temple in the first round. It was coach
Howie Shannon Howard Shannon (June 10, 1923 – August 16, 1995) was an American basketball player and coach. He played professionally in the Basketball Association of America (BAA) and the early years of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He later co ...
second year at the school. The next year, in the 1966–67 season, Tech earned its first trip to NCAA tournament. That year, Tech won two games in the tournament that included only 23 teams, making it to what is now called the Elite Eight. The team finished with a 20–5 record. Shannon coached at Tech for seven seasons, and posted 104 wins, with only one losing season. In 1971, Tech hired 29-year old Ohio State assistant coach
Don DeVoe Donald Eugene DeVoe (born December 31, 1941) is an American former college basketball coach and former player. DeVoe played college basketball for Ohio State University, and later served as the head coach for Virginia Tech, the University of W ...
. In 1973, Tech made its second appearance in the NIT, and stunned the country, winning four games in
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
by a total of five points, including a heart-wrenching 92–91 overtime win over Notre Dame. At the time, the NCAA only invited 32 teams, and only winners of conference tournaments were eligible. Tech earned an independent berth in the 1975-76 NCAA tournament in a field of 32. DeVoe and Tech parted ways following that season when he refused to sign a new contract after openly admitted that he was a candidate for the vacant head coaching job at Ohio State, his alma mater.


The Metro Conference Era

In 1978, one year after former Tech assistant
Charlie Moir Charles Robert Moir (November 29, 1930 – November 14, 2019) was an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach of the Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team from 1976 until his resignation in October 1987. During his 11 seas ...
took the reins from DeVoe, Virginia Tech joined the Metro 7, a conference that did not have a football championship. Tech's first year in the Metro led to its first conference championship. Even though it did not compete in a round-robin regular season schedule, it was able to beat regular season champion Louisville in the semi-finals and Florida State in the tournament championship game to earn its third trip to the NCAA tournament, where it lost to NCAA runner-up Indiana State led by star
Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend" Bird is widely regarded a ...
. Tech finished second, or tied for second, in the conference three times in the next seven years, and won 20 games in seven of its first eight seasons in the Metro. Moir guided Tech to 213 wins in 11 seasons from 1976 to 1987. The Hokies appeared in four NCAA Tournaments and went to the NIT four times in Moir's tenure as coach. Fortunes changed for the Hokies in 1986–87 when the team had its first losing season since 1969–70. Moir and Tech reached an agreement to part ways following an NCAA investigation that left the team on probation through October, 1989. Tech paid Moir $250,000 to buy out his contract. Tech hired Moir's assistant Frankie Allen as interim head coach to lead the program in the 1987–1988 season while it searched for an athletic director to replace Bill Dooley. Allen was Moir's first recruit at Roanoke College, and that institution's first African American athlete. He had been on the Tech staff for 11 years. When Dave Braine was hired as athletic director, he gave Allen the job as head coach. Allen led the Hokies to a 19–10 record and a third place tie in the Metro conference in that year that he began as interim coach. However, he did not have another winning season in his next three years, and his contract was not renewed. Bill Foster, former coach of Clemson and
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
took over as head coach in 1991. After two straight 10–18 seasons, the Hokies broke a five-year losing streak with an 18–10 record and a fourth-place finish in the Metro Conference in the '93–'94 season. The following year, the Hokies earned their first postseason berth since 1986, and capitalized by winning their second NIT title. The team set the school record at the time with 25 wins, including five wins in the NIT. It was their last season in the Metro Conference.


A decade of conference and coaching changes

In 1991, the
Big East The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
, previously a basketball-only conference, decided to begin play as a football conference. Miami, which had just restarted its basketball program in 1985 and played as an independent, was accepted as an "all-sports" member. Rutgers, Temple, West Virginia and Virginia Tech were added as "football only" members. Tech sought full Big East membership, including for basketball, and in March 1994, the league voted on expansion. Tech was left out of the mix as West Virginia and Rutgers got the nod. Tech was left seeking to join its fellow Metro members in an attempt to create another large conference. However, it was also left out of that mix, along with Metro member Virginia Commonwealth. The two schools sued the 12 members of the new conference, but in the end Tech had to settle for its third choice for a basketball league, the
Atlantic 10 The Atlantic 10 Conference (A-10) is a collegiate athletic conference whose schools compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association's (NCAA) Division I. The A-10's member schools are located mostly on the East Coast and Midwest of the ...
. Foster and the Hokies took the A-10 by storm in its first year in the league, finishing tied for first in the East division of the 12-team league. It went to the NCAA tournament and won its first game before bowing out to eventual national champion
Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...
. After the following season, Foster retired, and was replaced by Bobby Hussey, one of Foster's assistants. Hussey was fired after two losing seasons. The Hokies then turned to a former nemesis as its next head coach, tapping former UVA star
Ricky Stokes Ricky Leonard Stokes (born March 29, 1962) is an American athletics administrator and former men's college basketball coach who is currently the associate commissioner of men's basketball for the Mid-American Conference. Player Stokes played a ...
for the head job. In Stokes' first season, Tech's last season in the A-10, Tech eked out a 16–15 record. In November 1999, Tech finally was rewarded with an invitation to full membership in the
Big East Conference The Big East Conference (stylized as BIG EAST) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference that competes in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA NCAA Division I, Division I in 10 men's sports and 12 women's sports. H ...
. However, the Hokies were overmatched their first three years in the league, winning a total of 10 games in three years, finishing last of seven teams in the East division each of those years, and never reaching the conference tournament where only the top six teams of the division made the tournament. Stokes was fired at the end of the 2003 season. Stokes was dismissed after three straight losing season in the Big East, and Tech brought in coach Seth Greenberg to right the ship.


Joining the Atlantic Coast Conference

On June 25, 2003, Virginia Tech received news it had waited anxiously to receive for a half a century - an invitation to join the ACC. In 1953, the
Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...
was formed by seven teams who were then members of the Southern Conference ( Clemson,
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...
,
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
,
North Carolina State North Carolina State University (NC State, North Carolina State, NC State University, or NCSU) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina sy ...
,
South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...
, and Wake Forest. Conference officials expressed interest in adding an eighth member, and candidates mentioned were
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
and
West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...
. On December 4, 1953, officials convened in
Greensboro, North Carolina Greensboro (; ) is a city in Guilford County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, its population was 299,035; it was estimated to be 307,381 in 2024. It is the List of municipalitie ...
, and admitted Virginia, a former Southern Conference charter member that had been independent since 1937, into the conference. News reports said that not only was West Virginia turned down, but so was Virginia Tech. Tech fans spent much of the next 25 years watching ACC basketball on Saturday afternoons and Wednesday evenings before their hopes were raised again in 1977, five years after South Carolina left the league with only seven members. On May 2, 1977, after making a required site visit to Blacksburg to evaluate Tech's formal application, the ACC took its first vote on expansion since Virginia was admitted in 1953. Tech did not receive the requisite five votes of the seven league teams. A year later,
Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...
was tapped to be the league's eighth member, expanding its footprint into the lucrative Atlanta television market. Another ACC/Tech flirtation occurred in 1999 when the Big East sought to bring Miami into the conference mix. Miami ultimately decided to stay in the Big East, and the Hokies were subsequently admitted as a full members of the Big East. Just three years after Tech joined the Big East as full members, the ACC and Big East began a standoff that ultimately entered the courts, and governor's mansions. On May 16, 2003, the ACC voted 8–1 to enter into formal discussions with
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
,
Syracuse Syracuse most commonly refers to: * Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse * Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area Syracuse may also refer to: Places * Syracuse railway station (disambiguation) Italy * Provi ...
, and
Boston College Boston College (BC) is a private university, private Catholic Jesuits, Jesuit research university in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1863 by the Society of Jesus, a Catholic Religious order (Catholic), religious order, t ...
, leaving Virginia Tech out of the mix. On June 6, 2003, Big East members Tech, Rutgers, Connecticut, Pittsburgh, and West Virginia, entered into a suit against the ACC and two of the three proposed defectors - Miami and Boston College. (Syracuse was not named as a defendant because the plaintiffs found no examples of promises by Syracuse on which they made financial decisions). The lawsuit charged that the defendants conspired "on a scheme that is calculated to destroy the Big East and misappropriate its value for their benefit." By June 18, 2003, it became clear that the original expansion plan would not receive the required seven votes of the nine voting schools - meaning at least three schools were holding out. University of Virginia President John Casteen had been a strong advocate of the Hokies and was vocally one of the hold-outs, likely the original "no" vote on May 16 when the Hokies were excluded. Virginia governor
Mark Warner Mark Robert Warner (born December 15, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Virginia, a seat he has held since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, Warner served as the 69th gove ...
reportedly pressured the University of Virginia Board of Visitors (who serve as the supervisor of the university president and are appointed by the governor) to allow Casteen to continue his strong advocacy of the Hokies. Another "no" vote was likely Georgia Tech, whose president was Wayne Clough, a man who been on the faculty of Virginia Tech between 1982 and 1994, including as Dean of Engineering starting in 1990. Clough was the individual who visited with Virginia Tech president Charles Steger to officially deliver the news of the ACC change of heart on June 18. (Clough maintained his home in Blacksburg after he left the university). The third ACC university that was likely supportive of the Hokies to the point of vetoing a bid to Miami, Boston College, and Syracuse was
Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...
The school is geographically closest to Blacksburg (in
Winston-Salem, NC Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the fifth-most populous city in North Carolina and the 91st-most populous city in the Unit ...
), but as a small private school had little in common with Tech. However, several academic relationships were forged after the 1999 Tech/ACC negotiations. When Tech finally got the seven necessary votes for invitation, the biggest surprise was that Syracuse and Boston College were left out of the mix. Boston College was invited to the ACC just months later, on October 12, 2003. Syracuse wasn't invited to join the conference until 2011. (It joined along with Pittsburgh, which had been one of the co-plaintiffs in Tech's suit against the ACC. West Virginia left the Big East for the Big 12 that same year. Another co-plaintiff, Rutgers went to the Big 10 in 2014. The fifth co-plaintiff, Connecticut, stayed with the Big East until its football members became the American Athletic Conference in 2013).


Moving past the conference wars

Before the conference controversies were settled, Tech had hired a new head coach to replace Stokes. Seth Greenberg, who was head coach at
South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...
, was hired prior to the 2003–04 season. Tech had its first winning record since 1999–2000 under Greenberg, going 15–14 and advancing to its first Big East basketball tournament in
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
. The Big East had expanded its tournament to include all teams for the first time, but since Tech finished eight in the conference with a 7–9 record, it would have made the tournament under the old format. Tech's first season in the ACC resulted in an 8–8 conference record, good enough for a fourth seed and first-round bye in the 11-team conference tournament. Greenburg was named ACC Coach of the Year, and the Hokies advanced to their first post-season tournament since 1995. Tech beat Temple at home in the first round of the NIT, before falling to former Metro rival Memphis. After a down year in 2005–06, Tech surged for the next five years. During the 2006–07 season, Virginia Tech beat
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
at
Cameron Indoor Stadium Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The 9,314-seat facility is the primary indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils and serves as the home court for Duke Duke Blue ...
and also beat top-ranked
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
in Blacksburg. The Hokies went on to beat fourth-ranked North Carolina in Chapel Hill that same season. The Hokies earned a bid to the NCAA tournament that season as a No. 5 seed and beat
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...
before losing to
Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...
. It ended the year with a 22–10 record, the first time Tech had crossed the 20-win mark since the 1995–1996 season, when it also went to the NCAA tournament. In January 2009, Virginia Tech beat No. 1-ranked Wake Forest, the last unbeaten team in Division I in the 2008–09 season, marking the Hokies fourth defeat of a top-ranked team. The Hokies finished the 2009–10 season with a record of 23–8 and were snubbed for the NCAA tournament partially because they had one of the worst nonconference schedule strengths in recent memory. They received a bid to the NIT where they advanced to the third round before losing to
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
. The following year Virginia Tech added another victory over a top-ranked team on February 26, 2011, when it beat No. 1
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
, 64–60 in Cassell Coliseum. But, they again received a bid to the NIT, just missing out on the NCAA tournament. After a disappointing 2011–12 season and after nine seasons with a record of 170–123 at Virginia Tech, Greenberg was fired. James Johnson replaced him shortly thereafter. Greenberg has the second most wins all-time at Virginia Tech behind Moir. The Hokies beat 15th-ranked
Oklahoma State Oklahoma State University (informally Oklahoma State or OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States. The university was established in 1890 under the legislation of the Morrill Act. Originally known ...
on December 1, 2012. Star
Erick Green Erick O'Brien Green (born May 9, 1991) is an American professional basketball for Napoli Basket of the Lega Basket Serie A (LBA). He finished the 2012–13 NCAA Division I season as the top scorer in the nation at 25.0 points per game. Green wa ...
led the team to its first non-conference home defeat of a ranked opponent since 1995 by scoring 28 points. After two seasons with a record of 22–41, Johnson was fired.


Buzz Williams takes Hokies to three straight NCAA tournaments and a Sweet 16

Virginia Tech hired Marquette head coach
Buzz Williams Brent Langdon "Buzz" Williams (born September 1, 1972) is an American basketball coach who is the head coach at the University of Maryland. He previously served as head coach at Texas A&M from 2019 to 2025, Virginia Tech from 2014 to 2019, Marq ...
as head basketball coach on March 24, 2014. Though the 2014–15 season was difficult, the 2015–16 team finished with a 20–15 record and advanced to the second round of the NIT. Finally, in 2016–17, the Hokies broke through and earned a trip to the NCAA tournament as a No. 9 seed, falling to
Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...
in the first round. The 2018–19 season saw the Hokies defeat Duke for the third consecutive time in Blacksburg. The ended the season at 24–8 (12–6 ACC), receiving the 5th seed in the Conference tournament giving them a first-round bye. They played Miami for the second time in a week in the second round, winning the game, setting up a rematch with Florida State in the quarter finals. Florida State won 65–63 in overtime. They received a bid to the NCAA Tournament as the 4th seed in the East Region. Wins over 13th seeded St. Louis and 12th seeded Liberty set a rematch with Duke in the Sweet 16. The Hokies fell to the Blue Devils, 75–73, finishing the season at 26–9. Williams was announced as the new head basketball coach at Texas A&M on April 3, 2019. Texas A&M was required to pay Virginia Tech $750,000 in lieu of Williams completing his contract with the Hokies.


Mike Young guides Tech to ACC Tournament firsts

On April 7, 2019, Virginia Tech announced the hiring of former Wofford coach Mike Young to lead the program. In his second season as head coach, Mike Young guided the Hokies to their first ever double-bye in the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament and a fourth consecutive berth in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. (In his first season, the 2020 tournament was canceled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in the United States On December 31, 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case was reported on January 20, and United States Department of Health and Human Services, Health and Human Services Secreta ...
.) On March 12, 2022, Young coached the Hokies to the ACC tournament championship for the first time in school history. Tech won 82–67 over regular season champion
Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
. The game was
Mike Krzyzewski Michael William Krzyzewski ( , ; born February 13, 1947), nicknamed "Coach K", is an American former college basketball coach. He served as the head coach at Duke University from 1980–81 Duke Blue Devils men's basketball team, 1980 to 2021†...
's final ACC tournament game, and his 22nd time in the championship game. It was Tech's first time in the championship. To get to the final night, they had to go into overtime to beat Clemson, then bested second seed Notre Dame, and third-seeded
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
. The Hokies became the lowest seeded team in history to win the tournament. By winning the ACC tournament, Tech earned its fifth straight berth in the NCAA tournament. It was only the second conference tourney championship for the Hokies, which won the Metro Conference tournament in 1979.


Retired numbers

Virginia Tech has retired four jersey numbers.


Postseason results


NCAA tournament results

The Hokies have appeared in 13 NCAA tournaments. Their combined record is 8–13.


NIT results

The Hokies have appeared in 15
National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...
s. Their combined record is 26–13. They were NIT champions in 1973 and 1995.


Rivalries


Virginia Cavaliers

As the Commonwealth's two power conference teams, the Hokies and
Cavaliers The term ''Cavalier'' () was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of Charles I of England and his son Charles II of England, Charles II during the English Civil War, the Interregnum (England), Int ...
have a long-standing rivalry. When the teams were in separate conferences this rivalry often played out on neutral courts across the Commonwealth, such as in
Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...
, Roanoke, and Hampton. UVA leads the series 99–61 as of 2025, but the rivalry is extremely competitive and the Hokies dominated the decade of the 1960s.


Statistics

''Statistics updated as of 2020–21 season''''2019-20 VIRGINIA TECH MEN’S BASKETBALL MEDIA GUIDE''. Virginia Tech. 2019. p. 107.


All-time leaders


Points


Rebounds


Assists


Steals


Blocks


Current coaching staff

* Mike Young – Head Coach * Christian Webster – Assistant Coach * Kevin Giltner – Assistant Coach * Matt Olinger – Special Assistant for Recruiting * Ace Custis – Special Assistant to Head Coach * Ryan Nadeau – Video Coordinator *David Jackson – Strength and Conditioning


References


External links

* {{Atlantic Coast Conference men's basketball navbox