Full Game Preview and Score Prediction for Virginia Tech vs. Wake Forest

Virginia Tech men's basketball is back in action today when it hosts Wake Forest in the teams' second meeting of the 2025-26 campaign. The Hokies look to avoid falling to .400 in league play, as well as a potential Demon Deacons season sweep.

Senior Day in Cassell 🏰‼️

🆚 Wake Forest
🕛 Noon
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🟠 Wear Orange

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— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) February 21, 2026

Virginia Tech (17-10, 6-8 ACC) has seen its NCAA Tournament hopes take a major hit in the past month; in their last five games, the Hokies have won only once, surprising then-No. 20 Clemson on the road, 76-66, on Feb. 11.

Meanwhile, since the two teams' showdown, Wake Forest has gone 4-7. In mid-January, it languished through a five-game skid, where it lost games in succession to SMU (91-79), then-No. 5 Duke (90-69), Pittsburgh (80-76, OT), NC State (96-78) and then-No. 24 Louisville (88-80).

Since then, though, the Demon Deacons have bounced back — albeit, against a lower level of competition. In its last three games, Wake Forest has won by a combined 29 points, taking down Georgia Tech (83-67), Stanford (68-63) and Clemson (85-67).

The Demon Deacons are anchored by guard Juke Harris; the guard totaled 15 points against the Hokies last time out and Harris has led his team in scoring in seven of the past eight games — and each of the last five. In Wake Forest's game against the Tigers, Harris logged 20 points and seven boards.

Through 26 games, Harris is totaling 21.3 points per game (No. 14 in D-I), in addition to 6.7 rebounds per game.

For today's clash, Wake Forest guard Nate Calmese will be unavailable; he was listed as out on the ACC's player availability reports that were first listed last night. A second report will follow two hours before the game starts, and it will be released on the ACC site at roughly 10 a.m ET.

Calmese's absence is a significant blow to the Demon Deacons; last time out, Calmese torched Virginia Tech for a team-high 25 points, including the game-winning three-pointer with 6.5 seconds left to put the game away for Wake Forest.

For another game, Virginia Tech will not have sophomore guard Tyler Johnson; he has not appeared since Dec. 21 vs. Elon, when he came down hard with an apparent ankle injury in overtime. Johnson, at one point, was using crutches and a boot, though he has shed both when on the bench during games.

Virginia Tech's contest against Wake Forest will likely not be the kind of matchup that would dramatically boost its NCAA Tournament hopes unless a comfortable win arises. The Hokies currently rank at No. 59 in Ken Pomeroy's metrics, 10 spots above the Demon Deacons (No. 69).

Virginia Tech currently sits 11th in the ACC standings, two spots ahead of the Demon Deacons. With four games left, the Hokies are essentially guaranteed a spot in the ACC Tournament as long as they win one of their final four games, while Wake Forest's positioning is less secure.

At the time of writing, Notre Dame is currently the 15th and final team in the ACC Tournament field with a 3-10 record in league play. The tournament will begin on March 10 and last through March 14; if the season ended today, Virginia Tech would not receive a bye and would contest 14th-seeded Stanford in the opening round of the tournament on March 10.

So, what's my final score prediction?

I think that Virginia Tech has enough to stave off the Demon Deacons, but this contest may be closer than initially anticipated.

The Hokies' game against Wake Forest tips off at noon ET, and coverage for the contest will be available on the ACC Network.

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