Virginia Tech Men's Basketball's Stock Report After Georgia Tech Win
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Though Virginia Tech men's basketball almost lost to Georgia Tech, nearly blowing a 15-point lead, the Hokies held on Tuesday evening, taking down the Yellow Jackets 71-65 to improve to 16-6 overall and 5-4 in ACC play.
Had to have it
— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) January 28, 2026
🤝 @cmgleasing pic.twitter.com/B6pCG2LaBq
Buoyed by a 20-point performance from guard Ben Hammond, Virginia Tech did just enough to walk out of Cassell Coliseum. While the win wasn't pretty, being a grind-it-out affair near the end where the Hokies eked out just enough of a lead, the Hokies won a must-win game. I think that their stock is in neutral right now and has not shifted from their loss against Louisville. Should Virginia Tech be relatively competitive against Duke, who's heavily favored over the Hokies, my thoughts on Virginia Tech's current stock will likely remain unchanged.
In the last 10 Virginia Tech men's basketball games, spanning from the Hokies' overtime triumph over Elon on Dec. 21 to last night's triumph over Georgia Tech, the margin has been decided by more than two possessions just twice — an 89-76 victory for Virginia Tech over Notre Dame on Jan. 17, as well as a 85-71 loss to then-No. 23 Louisville on Jan. 24. Eight of the Hokies' last 10 games have seen the margin sitting at one possession during the final minute of play, with Virginia Tech vs. Notre Dame and Virginia Tech vs. Louisville again the lone outliers.
In that eight-game stretch, Virginia Tech has emerged victorious in five, sporting victories over Elon, then-No. 21 Virginia, California, Syracuse and now, Georgia Tech. The Hokies have suffered three losses by that margin in that same span: Wake Forest, Stanford and SMU. All came down to a single possession and each was decided by a game-winning triple from Tech's opponent.
Still, Virginia Tech is currently on the right side of the bracket, at least on ESPN. Bracketologist Joe Lunardi had the Hokies as the second-to-last team entering Tuesday's contest and though Virginia Tech only won by six over a Quad 3 opponent, it's a win, nonetheless. Hammond, who logged a team-high 20 points, has been instrumental to the team's success. The sophomore guard has averaged a team-high 17.0 points per game in league play.
Hammond's 20 points vs. Georgia Tech last night was his second time hitting the 20-point mark in three games; he put up 24 points on the road against Syracuse on Jan. 21. While Hammond has shone, wing Neoklis Avdalas' impact has been limited in league play. Save for a 21-point effort vs. Stanford, Avdalas' scoring impact has been muted. The freshman wing clanked his first four shots against Georgia Tech and ended with nine points and two assists. In nine ACC games, Avdalas has been held to single-digit points four times and has scored 11 or fewer points six times. Avdalas' 10.6 points per game in league play currently ranks fifth on the team.
Virginia Tech will next contest Duke on Saturday, Jan. 31 at 12 p.m. ET. The contest will be carried on ESPN.
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Thomas is a sophomore at Virginia Tech majoring in multimedia journalism with a minor in creative writing. He currently works with Collegiate Times, Virginia Tech's student-run newspaper, as a staff writer for its sports section. In addition, he also writes for 3304 Sports as a staff writer and on-air talent, as well as Aspiring Journalists at Virginia Tech as a curator. You can find him on X: @thomashughes_05.
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