It’s an unbalanced conference this year in ACC basketball. Virginia is likely to be ranked #1 this week and the conference has two top 15 NET teams, Virginia and Duke. They also have two at 250+ Florida State and Louisville.
There are several ACC teams trying to build cases as fellow top 25 caliber teams along with Virginia and Duke.
Miami deserves a look at 10-1 with a solid win over Rutgers. They should be ranked.
There’s another team that most ACC observers felt had a chance to be pretty strong giving the ACC four bonafide NCAA caliber teams. It’s the Virginia Tech Hokies. Did I leave out North Carolina? They need to show some consistency like these other four squads have.
A lot was expected of this Hokie team, but you’re never quite sure until you start playing games.
Virginia Tech moved to 10-1 Sunday after a hard-fought victory against Oklahoma State at a neutral site.
Thread and outstanding insight. #hokies @TalkinACCSports @MattZemek https://t.co/cXlRXKPq9f
— Mastodon Social: @HokieSmash_ASD@metalhead.club (@hokiesmash_ASD) December 11, 2022
The Cowboys aren’t an elite team, but they are a physical team that was picked in the middle of the Big 12.
That’s an NCAA-caliber team. The game was very much a rugged affair where the officiating frustrated Hokie fans.
What I really like about Virginia Tech’s play was how they fought threw adversity in the second half. This weekend we saw several middle-of-the-pack ACC teams wilt in the 2nd half. Wake Forest collapsed down the stretch against LSU after a more than 15-point lead in the first half. Clemson fell apart against a bad Loyola Chicago team. Notre Dame at home against Marquette barely competed in the last 10 minutes of the game.
Without question, Virginia Tech has completely separated from the middle of the ACC. They aren’t just playing to get into NCAAs they are playing for seeding, and this was a seeding game that can be the difference between a 6 or 7 seed or being in the 8/9 game.
The Hokies are a 2 point loss against 9-1 College Of Charleston from being undefeated.
They absolutely should be ranked in this week’s poll.
Mike Young has built a versatile team with strong guard play that proved when the game becomes a rock fight the Hokies can play and win that way too.
They are one of the few ACC teams, that’s trending upwards rather than sideways or even downwards.
When I think of the top of the ACC, I’m not just thinking Virginia and Duke – I have Virginia Tech in that grouping as well.
