Do or Die: What do the Hokies need to make a run at the NCAA tournament?

At 16-18 and 7-11 in conference play, Virginia Tech is in hot water and will need a big-time run to make the tournament. They've lost three consecutive ACC series, but they've also had the No. 4 SOS to this point, so things are looking to get much easier for the Hokies' last 19 regular-season games.

So what do the Hokies need? Well, John Szefc said that the goal was for the Hokies to get to the 15-win mark in conference play, which would require an 8-4 stretch for the remainder of conference play.

The remaining competition is Pitt, NC State, Cal, and Clemson — none of which are ranked in the top 25, with three of those series being at home. 8-4 in that stretch is more than obtainable, especially if they can find a way to sweep one of these teams, most likely being Cal on the road.

While needing an 8-4 stretch in conference play, they also need to go undefeated out of conference — facing Radford (tonight), VCU, JMU, Liberty, Marshall, and UNCG (twice).

Achieving those feats down the stretch would put Virginia Tech at 31-22 and 15-15 in conference play, firmly on the bubble as one of the hottest teams in the country (15-4 over their final 19 games).

Due to SOS, they're also in a rather favorable RPI spot due to their wildly difficult schedule. That 15-4 required stretch would likely have them in the lower 20's to upper 30's RPI, even with a 31-22 schedule that would comfortably miss the tournament most years.

That RPI jump would put them firmly on the bubble heading into the ACC tournament, where the Hokies would be looking to add a few more wins heading into selection sunday.

How can they turn things around?

Well, it starts this evening with Radford, who they beat 13-5 earlier in the season. A big win at home against the Highlanders could spark something for the Hokies.

The big thing, though, is to get healthy and to get hot.

Virginia Tech has taken a step up to a roughly average to slightly above average offense over the last two or so weeks, but some steps up could make a big difference.

Sam Grube has been swinging an ice-cold bat as of late, having just a pair of hits in his last 26 at-bats. As a typical middle-of-the-order bat, the Hokies need big swings out of him in the lineup, and a big game against Radford tonight could get things started.

The issues with health lie on the pitching side, though. The Hokies are missing Josh Berzonski, Peyton Smith, and Ben Weber. Madden Clement is working his way up to speed. While none of these arms are considered game-changers, they stand as the difference between a guy like Chase Swift or Preston Crowl throwing twice in a weekend compared to once.

Throwing twice wears pitchers out and helps hitters see them more easily a second time through, which can make a huge difference.

With Berzonski's injury, the Hokies are also down a lefty, which puts them in some difficult situations late in the weekend.

The Hokies need a big run to make it to the tournament, and that will have to start today.

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