Three Takeaways From Virginia Tech Men's Basketball's 82-73 Loss To NC State

Josh Poslusny breaks down three takeaways from Virginia Tech's loss to NC State.

Feb 7, 2026; Raleigh, North Carolina, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies head coach Mike Young reacts to the referee during the first half of the game against the NC State Wolfpack at Lenovo Center. Mandatory Credit: Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech took their second consecutive conference loss in Raleigh with a 82-73 loss to NC State. It was a game of runs, but ended up being a tough loss for the Hokies with a lot to takeaway. Let's get into it.

Final from Raleigh pic.twitter.com/rWOXOu8Jjv

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) February 7, 2026

No. 1: I believe that Wednesday's contest vs. Clemson is a must-win.

After this game, Virginia Tech possesses two Quadrant 1 wins in February: a home victory over Virginia and a road victory against Syracuse, which ranks No. 69 [Editor's note: The top 75 is the threshold for a Quadrant 1 road victory.]. The general desired spot for Selection Sunday is three to four Q1 wins for an at-large. They have three more chances: Wednesday at Clemson, Feb. 17 at Miami and Mar. 7 at UVA. All three are winnable, though the task becomes levels harder if the Hokies cannot upset Clemson.

They will likely have one or two more chances in the ACC Tournament, depending on how things shake up and whether or not Virginia Tech can win a game or two.

Regardless of that, you need to win at least two of those three, and you really want to take the Q1 chance at Clemson, which would put the Hokies in a spot to win one of their next two chances, with Miami being the most winnable.

No. 2: Neoklis Avdalas looks more comfortable

"He looked a more like himself," Young said about his play today.

Avdalas went 5-for-6 and 2-for-3 from beyond the arc. A 14-3-3 game with efficient shooting is precisely what Neoklis need for his confidence, and he got just that.

While he didn't jump off the screen the way he has in some games, he made the correct plays for most of the game, and that's the step in the right direction after the poor stretch that he's had in ACC play.

Heading to Clemson, another strong game for him would be huge for his confidence.

No. 3: Virginia Tech needs to work on three point shooting

In the offseason, Young emphasized that his team's shooting ability was his one concern, but he wasn't losing sleep over it. Early in the season, I asked him about how he felt about that take, and he backed up from it a bit, stating that the team was shooting much better than he anticipated.

As a team, Virginia Tech is shooting 34.5% from beyond the arc, which isn't bad. However, the team's accuracy has dipped 27.8% over the last three games.

Virginia Tech isn't a poor shooting team, but some players are taking non-ideal shots that they shouldn't. NC State defended inside very well — it held the Hokies to a 4-for-17 (23.5%) clip inside the arc in the first 20 minutes — and that led to Virginia Tech's big men taking seven threes and nailing zero. Bedford, Avdalas and Schutt combined to shoot 7-for-14 from three-point land.

In my opinion, Virginia Tech is taking too many threes for how good their big men are inside.