Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Stuns No. 20 Clemson, 76-66

The Hokies claimed their second league win on the road, notching a vital win for their NCAA Tournament aspirations.

Virginia Tech guard Jailen Bedford (0) reacts after scoring on Wednesday, Feb. 11, 2026, against Clemson. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

CLEMSON, S.C. — Virginia Tech men's basketball reigned victorious in its Wednesday showdown vs. Clemson, shocking the No. 20 Tigers in a 76-66 upset for its second ranked win of the 2025-26 campaign.

The victory marked head coach Mike Young's 12th ranked win with the Hokies (17-8, 6-6 ACC) — and his first win in Littlejohn Coliseum since Nov. 5, 2019, his first game at the helm of Virginia Tech, per Tech Sideline's David Cunningham. It was also the Hokies' first ranked win on the road since Feb. 2, 2019, vs. NC State (47-24).

"We had some really boneheaded plays in the last eight minutes of the game," Young said. "Fortunately, so did Clemson, which is uncharacteristic of both teams. But, get out of here with a significant road win. And we needed it bad right here."

another one for our resume 😏 pic.twitter.com/f2ZoQu3rGF

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) February 12, 2026

Clemson's (20-5, 10-2 ACC) defense, which entered the day holding opponents to 64.1 points per game — second-best in the ACC, only behind Duke — was stretched out by the Hokies, who enjoyed a rather productive day on offense. Virginia Tech scored its most points since Jan. 21, logging 76 points against the Tigers.

"We tweaked some things," Young said. "We took Sunday off... Against a team like Clemson, you're dead like a snake. They're going to strangle you. The ball's got to flow."

Moreover, Virginia Tech, which led by five with 2:36 to play, held on for the victory. In previous games, the Hokies dropped winnable contests against SMU, Wake Forest and Stanford, where they were leading late but ceded control in the waning moments. Against Clemson, Tech bent at points — but it did not break.

"Encouraging," Young said of how promising being able to close out the victory was. "You've got to, all right? You've got to, on the road. You've got to step up and make foul shots. You've got to handle the ball.

"You've got to do the things necessary to win a game. We did that today, but you are right. We have had a couple that we kicked, and I take great responsibility in that."

One major storyline to watch coming into the Wednesday tilt was the performance of Greek freshman Neoklis Avdalas. After a difficult three-game stretch spanning from Louisville (Jan. 24) to Duke (Jan. 31), where the wing averaged 5.3 points on 16% shooting, Avdalas bounced back against NC State with 14 points on a 5-of-6 clip.

Against Clemson, however, his performance was more muted. The freshman wing went 3-for-9 from the field, missing all three of his 3-point attempts. Avdalas ended the day with eight points, four assists and four turnovers.

However, it was guard Jailen Bedford who came up clutch early. And Bedford's appeared to find a different gear away from the confines of Cassell Coliseum. In home games, Bedford has averaged 9.2 points per contest. Not so in road play. The graduate transfer has averaged 16.6 points per game on the road this year.

Moreover, Bedford is shooting at a 37.6% clip at home, compared to a 46.6% mark away from Cassell. In three-point shooting, the gap is even more pronounced: 27.3% at home, 50% on the road.

"I don't know how," Bedford said when asked about the reasoning for the disparity. "I don't know why. I just like coming into people's arenas, just giving them belt."

Against Clemson, Bedford logged 23 points on 8-of-14 shooting — including a 4-of-5 mark from beyond the arc.

Bedford's stellar output from three came as part of a balanced and facilitated deep-ball effort from the Hokies. In total, Virginia Tech went 11-for-21 from behind the three-point line, going 7-for-11 in the opening 20 minutes. That included a buzzer-beating triple from forward Amani Hansberry to close out the first half, which ended with the Hokies leading, 40-33.

Virginia Tech guard Jailen Bedford (0), Clemson guard Ace Buckner (21) and Virginia Tech forward Amani Hansberry (13) go for a rebound. | Alex Martin/Greenville News / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It was a welcome change for a unit that had struggled from deep in recent contests; prior to Clemson, Virginia Tech sported a 27.8% rate from three-point land in its last three games (Georgia Tech, Duke, NC State).

Though Clemson cut the lead to five with 8:10 to play off a triple from guard Ace Buckner, it could not pull ahead. Virginia Tech subsequently went on a 6-0 run to pull back ahead by 11. The Tigers mounted another late charge, cutting it to a 69-64 margin with 2:36. But then, Bedford came up big, nailing a triple with 2:08 on the clock and giving the Hokies an unshakeable eight-point lead.

"That shot... was enormous," Young said.

“It wasn’t even drawn up,” Bedford said. “I was hoping he threw it, and I made it. I appreciate him for giving me the easy look like that.”

Clemson entered the day sporting 14 straight road wins in league play, a statistic that wasn't challenged much throughout the day. Though the Tigers mounted a late charge — an increasingly common theme in the ACC games that the Hokies dropped — it wasn't enough to topple a Virginia Tech unit bolstered by stellar guard play. Hammond and Bedford combined to score 42 points on 13-of-25 (52%) shooting.

Moreover, the win comes at a welcome time. The Hokies entered their Wednesday showdown having lost three of their last four contests. Clemson, by contrast, entered the Wednesday showdown on a roll. The Tigers entered their showdown with Virginia Tech, having won their last four games, claiming 13 of their 14 most recent contests. That, and Clemson had won its previous 14 straight at Littlejohn Coliseum in league play. Yet, Tech was undaunted and, despite Clemson's late charge, weathered the late storm to hold off the Tigers.

Though the Tigers logged 35 points off the bench compared to Virginia Tech's seven, Clemson's starters logged just 31 points. 19 points of that 31-point outing from the starters came from center Carter Welling, who posted his total on a 7-for-11 rate. Discounting Welling, the Tigers' other four starters went 4-for-21 (19%) for 12 points.

Off the bench, Nick Davidson and Ace Buckner produced 16 points apiece, off 7-of-9 and 6-of-9 clips, respectively. Disregarding Welling and those two, the remainder of the Clemson lineup went a drab 5-for-26 (19.2%).

The victory for the Hokies calls to mind a line from Bankroll Fresh’s 2015 track “Take Over Your Trap” featuring 2 Chainz and Skooly: “Walk in your trap and take over your trap.” Late in the first half, Virginia Tech did exactly that, seizing control of the game on the road and never letting up. Fittingly, the same song echoed through the visitors’ locker room during the Hokies’ postgame celebration.

"I think it's self-explanatory for real, what we did today," Hammond said. "And it's a big one for us."

Hammond's performance came off a difficult outing last time out against NC State. The sophomore guard was blanked by the Wolfpack, logging zero points on 0-for-9 shooting. Against Clemson, though, he came up clutch, logging 17 second-half points to push the Hokies past the ranked Tigers.

"He's going to do some kamikaze things, like, dude, what are you doing right now?" Young said. "But he's going to give you everything in his tank. He's going to play the right way."

Now, as a result, Virginia Tech has claimed a vaunted win, one that's pushed it up five spots on KenPom to No. 54 at the time of writing. The Hokies also claimed their third Quadrant 1 victory of the season, which joins a home triumph vs. Virginia (Dec. 31) and a road win at Syracuse (Jan. 21). So, does Young think that the resume took a vital boost?

"I do," the seventh-year head coach of the Hokies said, cracking a smile.

Virginia Tech receives a slight reprieve from its difficult ACC stretch on the road when it hosts Florida State next on Saturday, Feb. 14. The game will tip off at 2 p.m. ET and will be available for viewing on the ACC Network.

Following that test, the Hokies are back on the road to face another team: Miami. Virginia Tech's test against the Hurricanes in Coral Gables will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 8 p.m. ET on ACC Network.