Three Biggest Takeaways from Virginia Tech Basketball's 96-67 Victory over Mercer

BLACKSBURG — Virginia Tech men's basketball trudged over Mercer 96-67 Wednesday evening at Cassell Coliseum. Here are three spur-of-the-moment takeaways I had postgame:

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— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 6, 2026

No. 1: Miles Heide brings experience to the anchor role

After spending three seasons on the West Coast with San Diego State, Heide is spacing and opening up the floor beautifully in Blacksburg.

Fellow senior, Amani Hansberry, led the Hokies in scoring with a career-high 23 points — a career-high aided by Heide’s versatility enabling Hansberry to shift to his more natural power forward position.

"At the four, I like it a lot more, especially on the defensive end," Hansberry exclaimed after the career-high in points. "I'm more involved with the game and able to get a lot of rebounds because I'm not boxing out the five."

While Hansberry could compete down low last season, Heide being anchor could unlock even more potential for Hansberry given the extra space on the floor.

"The only thing at the five is, I know I'm going to get catch-and-shoot threes, off the pick-and-pops," Hansberry said.

No. 2: Tyler Johnson off the bench is sublime

Last season, Johnson started in 13 out of the 17 contests he appeared in, but to begin the 2026-27 campaign, his efforts have started on the bench.

While Johnson did deal with a lower body injury for two months last year, he eventually came back to end ACC action with a bench role.

He has now taken that role and added a stick of dynamite to it. Johnson has been aggressive and explosive as a reserve.

"You see the way he guards, he rebounds, he's a Swiss Army Knife," Hansberry exclaimed about Johnson. "With those capabilities that would start anywhere else; coming off the bench is incredible."

For Johnson, mentally, it seems the role has allowed him to take a step back and take in information about the game from a new perspective.

"I feel like I need to watch the game more... seeing certain little mistakes and stuff that I can work on," Johnson said. "It helps me with the pace of the game and seeing how the game is going."

No. 3: Tech didn't live or die by the three

On opening night against Coppin State, the Hokies shot 13-for-28 from 3-point range. On Tuesday, however, they started 1-for-8, which included a run of seven straight misses from distance.

From there, Tech penetrated inside the arc more, finding shots anywhere from interior finishes from Hansberry to a pull-up mid-range connection from guard Jaylen Curry.

"[We weren't] worried about three-point, or two-point shots, but just getting good looks," Hansberry said. "Those good looks happened to be in the paint."

The Hokies exploited Mercer’s lacking interior defense to shoot 26-for-48 inside the arc — the key mark which enabled Virginia Tech's 2-0 start.

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