Virginia Tech: 18-13, 10-8 in the ACC
Head Coach: Buzz Williams
Leading Scorer: Zach LeDay (15.2 PPG)
Season Recap: The Hokies were one of the most surprising teams in the ACC in Williams’ second year at the helm, taking a giant leap forward to finish in seventh place after two straight last-place finishes at 2-16 in conference play. They started strong and finished stronger, upsetting then-No. 4 Virginia in their second conference game before closing out the regular season on a five-game winning streak, punctuated by a convincing 77-62 victory Saturday against No. 7 Miami.
Redshirt juniors Seth Allen and Zach Leday both had impressive years to start their Virginia Tech careers after transferring from Maryland and South Florida, respectively, and sophomore Justin Bibbs averaged 12.2 points per game as the third-leading scorer to round out a balanced attack. Bibbs is a 47 percent 3-point shooter—good for the second-best clip in the ACC—but cooled off after a torrid start to the year and shot 39 percent from long range in conference play.
The Hokies had too many nonconference defeats—including a season-opening loss against Alabama State—to be a serious threat to make the NCAA tournament barring a deep ACC tournament run, but they have a bright future with only one senior on their roster this year. Virginia Tech has finished the year on a roll and could build some momentum heading into next season with a few postseason wins in Washington and possibly in the NIT.
How They Make a Run: A run to the ACC championship game for the Hokies would likely go through Florida State, Miami and Virginia—all teams Virginia Tech beat during the regular season. The Hokies' tallest starter is 6-foot-8, creating a disadvantage on the glass against bigger teams like the Seminoles and Hurricanes, and their winning formula must involve hot 3-point shooting. They shot more than 50 percent from beyond the arc in their wins against all three potential opponents, led by Bibbs, Allen and LeDay—a 6-foot-7 power forward who can stretch the floor with his range.
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