Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Quelled In 82-73 Loss at NC State

The Hokies were outscored 36-24 in the opening half and eventually lost by nine in Raleigh.

Feb 7, 2026; Raleigh, N.C.; Virginia Tech forward Amani Hansberry (13) dunks the ball during the second half of the game against NC State. | Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

RALEIGH, N.C. — Virginia Tech men's basketball was quiet in the first half of its Saturday showdown vs. NC State, falling to the Wolfpack 82-73 in Raleigh at the Lenovo Center.

"We had our chances, and played very well in the first half," said Virginia Tech (16-8, 5-6 ACC) head coach Mike Young. "Were down 12 at the half, were terrible offensively. Had nine turnovers, which you can't do anywhere, certainly not on the road against a good team. Better job in the second, cut it to three.

"... Not quite good enough against the Wolfpack, not quite good enough on the road. But we did some good things also. We'll head to Clemson on Wednesday and tee it up again."

Final from Raleigh pic.twitter.com/rWOXOu8Jjv

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

The Hokies drew within three with 11:20 to go off of a three-pointer from guard Jaden Schutt, cutting the deficit to 54-51. However, 18 seconds of game time later, Wolfpack (18-6, 9-2 ACC) guard Tre Holloman buried a triple of his own, kickstarting a 10-1 run that put the game out of reach for Virginia Tech.

"Schutt's an absolute weapon transfer from Duke, shoots 50% on transition corner threes," said NC State head coach Will Wade. "That was off of a broken play. It's really the timeout there [we took], really just about to regroup our guys, calm our guys down and to get our guys back in rhythm a bit."

Negating the run, which absorbed two minutes of game clock from the 11:20 to 9:20 marks of the second half, the contest would have been 72-all.

Alas, basketball is a game of runs. Virginia Tech fell prey to that run and an earlier burst in the first half, where NC State pulled ahead 20-7 with 11:50 remaining in the opening frame. From the U-16 media timeout to the U-12 media timeout, the Wolfpack outscored the Hokies by a staggering 14-1 margin. In the first half, Virginia Tech made just eight of its 31 looks for a 25.8% clip.

For the first time since its Jan. 14 bout vs. SMU, Virginia Tech has fallen below .500 in league play, currently sitting on the precipice not only of the NCAA Tournament, but potentially in losing a chance at a bye for the ACC Tournament, which starts March 10 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

There were still several positive takeaways to draw away from the contest, though. Forward Tobi Lawal was luminous in defeat, gobbling 15 rebounds and 17 points on a 6-for-10 clip from the field. The English big also tallied a perfect 5-for-5 mark from the free-throw line.

Moreover, wing Neoklis Avdalas produced a stellar and efficient outing, a welcome return after his recent struggles in conference play. After tallying 16 combined points against Louisville, Georgia Tech and Duke, Avdalas produced 14 points on 5-of-6 shooting, albeit doing so with five turnovers.

"Thought he was great," Young said. "Looked more like he was himself."

Schutt was pinpoint from the field, as well, burying four of his six looks from the field and going 3-for-5 from beyond the three-point line. In Schutt's past six contests, three of those games resulted in a 50% or higher mark from the field, while the other three were 20% or lower.

The Hokies also limited the ACC's Preseason Player of the Year, guard Darrion Williams, to only four points on 1-of-9 shooting. Williams' first bucket, a trey with 14:59 left in the first half, was part of NC State's 14-1 run spanning the U-16 to U-12 media timeouts in the opening frame.

Still, Virginia Tech's positives were countered — and at times, outweighed — by negatives. Though forward Amani Hansberry ended the contest with a team-high 19 points, NC State held the third-year big to a 1-for-9 clip and three points in the first half. Hansberry bounced back, though, tallying 16 second-half points and making six of his 10 looks from the field.

"Wasn't himself today," Young said about the first-half struggles. "... Still, the kid has 19 and seven, give me a break. Turns around and plays great basketball... All in all, we're going to be fine."

"We called off the double and just tried to play him one-on-one," said Wolfpack heead coach. "I think that they weren't necessarily prepared for that in the first half. Second half, they put it down and he just started getting fouled."

Guard Ben Hammond was kept quiet by NC State, finishing the contest with no points on 0-for-9 shooting, plus four fouls. He did accumulate four assists, however, a small bright spot in a difficult outing for the typically stellar guard.

"I thought the pressure bothered him," Wade said. "Tre's been phenomenal for us defensively the last couple games. We wanted to make [Avdalas] initiate the offense, because Hammond usually initiates a lot of the offense. So, we were face-guarding him in the full court, trying to make it difficult for him to get the ball... By the time [Hammond] got the ball, he was a little bit tired, a little bit fatigued."

More importantly, NC State was just a little bit better. Four Wolfpack scorers ended the day with double-figure points, paced by guards Quadir Copeland and Paul McNeil Jr. with 21 apiece.

Though the Hokies also produced four double-digit scoring players, their other four players that saw playing time — guard Jailen Bedford (3-for-11), guard Ben Hammond (0-for-9), center Christian Gurdak (2-for-2) and center Antonio Dorn (no shots) — went a combined 5-for-22 (22.7%).

The Wolfpack weren't much better in that regard with a 5-for-18 (27.2%) clip from their non-double-digit scorers; however, NC State pulled away in the first half with a 14-8 bucket disparity over Virginia Tech, then stayed within reach off 13 made free throws in the second half to claim its sixth straight victory.

Virginia Tech, which has now lost three of its last four, heads right back on the road for another difficult ACC test, facing off against Clemson on Wednesday, Feb. 11 at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be carried on the ACC Network.

The Hokies aren't out of the fight yet, though, and Wade was complimentary of his opponent, remarking that the team is of an NCAA Tournament team's caliber. Virginia Tech was listed as the fourth team out of the tournament on ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi's seed list entering its clash with the Wolfpack.

"They're a very good team," Wade said. "They're gonna find a way to make the NCAA Tournament. They got two good players. Johnson, I assume will be back here soon. He gives them another three-point shooter, cutter, offensive rebounder.

"Thank God they didn't have him... They had a lot on the line today... Our guys were good enough to respond and answer."

Still, for Virginia Tech to stake a serious claim at the NCAA Tournament, marquee wins will have to arrive — and soon, for time is running out. The ACC Tournament is 31 days away, and with that, 36 days await until Selection Sunday. Time is ticking. The question now is whether the Hokies end up on the right side when that clock runs out.