Virginia Tech Basketball A Surprising Favorite vs Syracuse Per ESPN's BPI Predictor

Can the Hokies get a win today vs the Orange and keep their hopes alive of earning a first round bye in the ACC Tournament

Feb 15, 2025; Blacksburg, Virginia, USA; Virginia Tech Hokies guard Brandon Rechsteiner (7) controls the ball .during the first half against the Virginia Cavaliers at Cassell Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bishop-Imagn Images | Brian Bishop-Imagn Images

Virginia Tech fought hard on Tuesday vs Louisville, but the Hokies came up short of being able to pull off the upset. They are back at home today vs Syracuse and Virginia Tech could use a win to improve their hopes of getting a first round bye in the ACC Tournament, however remote they might be.

As the Atlantic Coast Conference expanded to 18 teams this season, only the top 15 teams will advance to the ACC tournament in Charlotte, March 11-15. Tech is in a four-way tie for ninth in the ACC standings at 7-10 following Wednesday’s slate of games. Two of the Hokies’ three remaining opponents rank higher than them in the ACC standings: vs. North Carolina (tied for fifth) and at Clemson (tied for second).

Virginia Tech trails 13-7 in the all-time series against Syracuse. The Hokies have won four of the last eight matchups, including the last meeting in Blacksburg – an 85-70 Tech victory on Jan. 28, 2023. Under then-first year head coach Adrian Autry, Syracuse cruised to an 84- 71 win in the last meeting between the two sides at JMA Wireless Dome. The first game of the series was played on Feb. 28, 1976 in Syracuse - a 92-81 win by the Hokies. Tech is 5-3 against the Orange at home, including 2-1 under Mike Young. This will only be the third game in the VT-Syracuse series that Hall of Fame head coach Jim Boeheim will not be on the sideline. He called the Tech Louisville this past Tuesday.

While ESPN's BPI has had Virginia Tech an underdog in most games this year, it likes them to beat Syracuse today. BPI is giving Virginia Tech a 54% chance to win today's game.

But what is BPI? Here is how ESPN describes it:

"The Basketball Power Index (BPI) is a measure of team strength that is meant to be the best predictor of performance going forward. BPI represents how many points above or below average a team is. Strength of Record (SOR) is a measure of team accomplishment based on how difficult a team's W-L record is to achieve. Game predictions account for opponent strength, pace of play, site, travel distance, day's rest and altitude, and are used to simulate the season 10,000 times to produce season projections. Numbers update daily."

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