Is Virginia Tech Men's Basketball's Game vs. Cal Saturday A Must-Win?

The Hokies sit at 1-2 in league play and have dropped their first two games of 2026.

Jan 7, 2026; Blacksburg, Va.; Virginia Tech guard Jailen Bedford (0) lays the ball up as Stanford forward Oskar Giltay (15) defends. | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech men's basketball is 0-2 thus far in the New Year. The Hokies have toiled through two losses, suffered by a combined four points: a three-point fall to Wake Forest on Jan. 3, followed by a one-point defeat at the hands of Stanford four days later. Though Virginia Tech has acquitted itself well at points in both contests, taking leads into the final minutes, it hasn't done enough to walk out with the wins in either contest. Consequently, the Hokies now sit at 1-2 in the ACC and now find themselves behind the 8-ball in regard to seeding in the ACC Tournament. They're not doomed. But they do sorely need this next game against California on Saturday.

Learn. Respond. Move forward.

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— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) January 9, 2026

It's safe to say that this game is vitally important for Virginia Tech. Not just because if the Hokies lose, it marks their third straight loss. Not just because a loss would move them to 1-3 in league play.

But rather, I think it's a must-win for the case of momentum and for resume. Virginia Tech is in the midst of a six-game stretch from Jan. 3 to Jan. 21 where it faces six teams 30 or less spots away from it in the KenPom rankings. For reference, the Hokies currently sit at No. 61 overall in Pomeroy's metrics.

In that two-game stretch, Virginia Tech has lost both of its first two contests in that stretch. Exiting the first six games with a 3-3 or 4-2 record in-conference is paramount for the Hokies in regard to claiming their first at-large NCAA Tournament bid since 2021. There is an exceedingly low chance that Virginia Tech advances via being the ACC champion; that came about via a magical 2022 ACC Tournament run that is ulikely to repeat iteslf. The ACC is far stronger this year than it was lasst year. For Virginia Tech, starting off this six-game stretch as good as possible is sorely needed and it's put itself behind the 8-ball by losing its last two ACC games.

Pomeroy's metrics predict a 68%-win probability for Virginia Tech at the time of writing. Following this six-game stretch, which concludes on Jan. 21 vs. Syracuse, the Hokies face four schools in their next five battles that are in Pomeroy's top-35: Louisville (No. 15) on Jan. 24, Duke (No. 7) on Jan. 31, N.C. State (No. 33) on Feb. 7 and Clemson (No. 35) on Feb. 11.

Compounding that is the fact that three of the four games I just mentioned are on the road; the only one that isn't comes against ACC powerhouse Duke at the end of the month. Simply put, Virginia Tech needs these games now because it may not get another chance to add a meaningful win to its resume for a while unless it can upset one of the Cardinals, Blue Devils, Wolfpack or Tigers. Claiming Saturday's contest vs. the Golden Bears is crucial for Virginia Tech, because it primes them well heading into a difficult stretch, gives them a higher probability to exit that six-game stretch with a 3-3 in-conference record and deepens its resume against teams of similar caliber.

Virginia Tech's contest against the Golden Bears tips off on Saturday, Jan. 10 at 4 p.m. ET; the contest will be available for viewing on the ACC Network.