Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Cracks Top-68 In KenPom, Bilas Index

Following Tech's season-opening victory, both KenPom and basketball analyst Jay Bilas have the Hokies in the nation's top-68.

Virginia Tech Athletics

Virginia Tech men's basketball claimed a dominant 98-67 season-opening victory over Charleston Southern to begin the 2025-26 campaign. As a result, it's seen a boost, both in the rankings and in the eyes of multiple analysts. The Hokies now rank No. 66 on KenPom, three spots below their next opponent, Providence (No. 63). In addition, college basketball analyst Jay Bilas ranked the Hokies No. 44.

dubs only to open the szn ✅ pic.twitter.com/UIcoHZKkeC

— Virginia Tech Men's Basketball (@HokiesMBB) November 4, 2025

Here's a snippet of what Bilas had to say:

"In Tech's 2025-26 opener, last season's leading scorer Tobi Lawal kept the momentum going with 20 points and West Virginia transfer Amani Hansberry had 19. Highly touted international newcomer Neoklis Avdalas -- who impressed at the NBA draft combine before deciding to play in college instead -- had only [eight] points [Editor's note: Bilas stated that it was nine points, but both ESPN and HokieSports listed it at eight.] But he should settle in and be key for a team looking to improve on an 8-12 ACC record."

It's important to note that ranking in the top-68 doesn't necessarily mean that a bid to the Big Dance is assured. With 31 conferences sending automatic qualifiers to the NCAA Tournament, Virginia Tech will almost certainly need to rely on an at-large bid to make it to the Big Dance; the Hokies have won the ACC Tournament just once — 2022. There will be a shifting cutline above the nation's No. 68 team that will become apparent once teams reach conference play and especially once conference tournaments get underway.

Whether Tech is on the right or wrong side of that line is yet to be determined; however, the Hokies leapt out to a stellar start in their opener Saturday behind Lawal and Hansberry's outing. The output from Lawal (20 points, 12 rebounds) and Hansberry (19 points, 13 rebounds) was the first time since Nov. 16, 2023 that multiple Tech players notched a double-double.

While Avdalas tallied only eight points, he also notched nine assists, several of which led to fast-break opportunities. One definign play that stood out was when Avdalas fired the ball from well behind halfcourt between two Buccaneers defenders to a waiting Tyler Johnson for an easy lay-in.

Johnson was smooth and steady throughout the contest, notching a nine-point, five-assist outing, ranking only behind Avdalas' for the team's most assists vs. Charleston Southern.

Virginia Tech's second game of the season against Providence is on Saturday, Nov. 8 at 4 p.m. ET. The game will be available for viewing on Peacock.