Five Takeaways From Virginia Tech Men's Basketball's Overtime Win Over Providence

Staff writer Josh Poslusny gives five takeaways from Virginia Tech's 107-101 overtime win against Providence.

David Moats and the bench celebrate | Credit - Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech won a thrilling overtime matchup over Providence on Saturday; here's five takeaways from the Hokies' second victory of the season.

just getting started 🇬🇷📈 pic.twitter.com/os1sdGFEMt

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 9, 2025

No. 1: Neoklis Avdalas showed out and proved why he's a superstar.

What must I say? Neoklis Avdalas tallied a 33-point outing, with five rebounds and six assists to go along with it. He shot 5-for-8 from three and 13-of-23 from the field. The Greek import just played what is possibly his best career outing, even including his time overseas.

Are you not entertained?! 😅

📺 Peacock pic.twitter.com/nNcLRRQHiW

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 8, 2025

Following the doubts that came after scoring just eight in the season's opener, his game control was also spectacular, dishing out six assists, several of which came in crucial moments down the stretch.

just throw it up, Tobi will get it‼️

📺 Peacock pic.twitter.com/t3pL87wtTS

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 8, 2025

No. 2: Jailen Bedford will be a key piece this season.

Jailen Bedford played his best game so far as a Hokie, scoring 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting from the field along with going 3-for-5 from beyond the arch. He played a crucial role in this game, giving the Hokies (2-0) clutch baskets when they needed them the most.

Bedford has the skillset and ability to move around off-ball and around screens that reminds me of Hunter Cattoor. The way that he is able to find open space by using the body of not only his teammates, but also opposing players, stands out.

It feels like Avdalas, the commander of the offense, looks for him first when he's looking for a pass out of a difficult situation. Bedford's ability to shoot the seams off the ball should prove to be a huge weapon for Virginia Tech's offense throughout the season.

Amani Hansberry is shooting too many three's

Hansberry is an unbelievably talented player that has and will continue to play a huge role in this offense going forward. However, his three-point volume may be reaching too high a point. Hansberry nailed a huge one for the Hokies in the game's late stages, but he missed four before that.

Hansberry went 6-for-15 overall and 5-for-10 from two point range.

Here's his two-point and three-point shot marks through two games:

Hansberry from two: 10-for-17 (58.8%), 20 points
Hansberry from three: 4-for-14 (28.6%), 12 points

While it's not discouraging Hansberry from shooting the ball, he needs to be more selective in his shots. He has the ability to shoot, but the volume at which he's shooting is concerning. He shot it 29.2% from deep at West Virginia last year while shooting about four threes per game.

No. 4: This team can shoot.

All offseason, Mike Young harped on one main concern: three-point shooting.

To me, those concerns appear to be eased; the team shot 12-for-28 and 42.9% from deep.
In this one, Providence held their own on the inside and allowed for good looks from three, where the Hokies knocked them down.

Avdalas shot 5-for-8 and Johnson also knocked down a three of his own, going 1-for-3. While the volume is unlikely to be as high over the course of the season, the ability to knock them down from all over the court was promising.

No. 5: This team is OK about turnovers.

The Hokies turned the ball over 11 times; nine of those came in the first half with only two occurring in the second frame.

They allowed just 12 total points off turnovers, meaning that even when they do turn the ball over, they are able to either get back on defense quickly and slow the transition offense or limit their turnovers to dead-ball turnovers and allow the defense to get set.

The ability to limit turnovers has been something that Young's teams have had troubles with in the last few years. This year, that issue seems to be remedied with the advent of Avdalas. Virginia Tech's ability to limit live ball turnovers is an important one and it took an important step today.