How Does Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Stack Up In ESPN's Latest Bracketology?

Are the Hokies in or out of the NCAA Tournament Bracketology projections after their non-conference slate?

Dec 2, 2025; Columbia, S.C.; Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young directs his team against South Carolina. | Jeff Blake-Imagn Images

After 13 games of their 2025-26 campaign, Virginia Tech men's basketball sits at 11-2, with its lone two defeats coming to Saint Mary's and VCU in the semifinals and third-place game of the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, respectively.

The Hokies enter the Christmas break off a nail-biting 82-81 overtime victory against Phoenix, where they persevered in the extra period despite being down five key players — guard Neoklis Avdalas, forward Tobi Lawal and center Antonio Dorn missed the contest entirely, while guard Tyler Johnson left midway through overtime with an apparent ankle injury and forward Amani Hansberry fouled out.

dashing through with a dub 😝 pic.twitter.com/umpxL40a1H

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) December 20, 2025

In the latest bracket projections, which were yesterday morning, Virginia Tech was listed in the "next four" denotation, coming in as the second team in that range. That places the Hokies as the sixth team out of the tournament; in Joe Lunardi's projections, Oklahoma is the 68th and final team in the NCAA Tournament.

Two other ACC teams are listed on the tournament bubble, which features 16 teams. Four each are listed in four separate categories: last four byes, last four in, first four out and next four out, the category Virginia Tech is in. Miami is listed in the "last four byes" section, while California is one of the "first four out" teams. One spot behind Virginia Tech is fellow in-state school VCU, which beat the Hokies by 18 in the third-place consolation game at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament. At the time of writing, eight ACC teams are listed in the provisional 68-team tournament field, with California and Virginia Tech the next two schools on the outside looking in.

The Hokies have been anchored by five scorers tallying double figures in points. Hansberry leads the way with a team-high 16.3, also accumulating 8.4 rebounds per game. Highly touted wing Avdalas, who currently projects to be a first-round draft pick on several NBA mocks, is second on the team in points with 14.6 per game, while his five assists per game paces the team in distribution.

Lawal has missed the past seven games and is unlikely to play against Virginia; in six games, he averaged 12.8 points and 10.3 rebounds. While guards Jaden Schutt and Ben Hammond have started a combined four out of 26 available games, both are averaging in double figures; Schutt is averaging 10.6 points; Hammond, 10.1. Through 13 games, Virginia Tech has outscored its opponents by 10.5 points per game, scoring 83.1 points per game to its foes' 72.6.

Virginia Tech begins its ACC slate against Virginia on Wednesday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m. ET; viewing for the first installment of this year's men's basketball's Commonwealth Clash will be available on ACC Network. The ACC-opening slate marks the first time that Virginia Tech faces Virginia to begin its ACC stretch, according to Tech Sideline's David Cunningham. The Hokies will also close their regular season against Virginia on March 7 in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Following the New Year's Eve contest, the Hokies will venture to Winston-Salem, North Carolina to take on Wake Forest on Saturday, Jan. 3 at noon ET (TV: ACCN).