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Hokie Hoops Pre-ACC Update 
by Chris Coleman, TechSideline.com

The Virginia Tech men's basketball team has finished its non-conference schedule. Starting this Saturday with Maryland, the Hokies will play 15 consecutive ACC contests. The competition will be at another level. This is why these players decided to attend Virginia Tech. The young Hokies have talent, but how will they fare in the most prestigious basketball conference in the nation?

Currently the Hokies are 9-6 overall, and 0-1 in the ACC. That puts them around Maryland (10-6, 0-1) and Georgia Tech (7-6, 0-1) in the standings. NC State and Boston College haven't been particularly impressive either. There is one major difference between Virginia Tech and those teams, however: The Hokies haven't had nearly as many home games.

That table includes games through Tuesday night's action. No ACC team has played fewer home games this season than the Hokies. Tech has played the second most road games in the ACC (5) and the second most neutral site games (4).

When you consider that six of Virginia Tech's top 10 players are freshmen, the Hokies have probably played the toughest schedule in the conference. It's true that UNC has played at BYU, Rutgers, Ohio State and Kentucky in non-conference games, but the Tar Heels are the #1 team in the nation. They don't have six freshmen.

Seth Greenberg could have scheduled for success, but he chose to get this team ready for the rigors of college basketball by giving them a tough schedule. The road game at Old Dominion (which was actually signed by Ricky Stokes) could be the toughest road environment that the Hokies face this year.

Tech has been very close in some of their games, losing to Butler in overtime, Penn State by five, ODU by three, Wake by two and Richmond by three. Greenberg pointed out on Tuesday night's Hokie Hotline that Tech could easily be 12-3, even with the strategy of playing a tough schedule.

Not all teams have the same scheduling philosophy. Take the defending National Champion Florida Gators, for example. Billy Donovan's team is completely new this year, just like Seth Greenberg's. However, Donovan decided to play an easy schedule. The Gators have played 11 home games, three neutral site games and just two road games.

I don't think Virginia Tech's record would be much different against that schedule than Florida's. The Gators are 14-2. I'm thinking the Hokies could pull 12 or 13 wins out of that group of teams.

Speaking of Florida, Charleston Southern head coach Barclay Radebaugh had this to say about the Hokies after Monday night's game: "They're the most athletic, longest team we've competed against this year. ... We just got overwhelmed."

The Buccaneers also played Florida earlier in the season. The Gators are similar to the Hokies, with five freshmen in their 10-man rotation. As a result of their easy schedule, as of Friday morning, Florida is #93 in the RPI (per RealTimeRPI.com) at 14-2 (with a strength of schedule 290), while the 9-6 Hokies are #102 (SOS of 96).

Virginia Tech plays 31 guaranteed games this year. They've already played 15, and they have 15 ACC games remaining, plus one in the ACC tournament. That's 31. Tech will obviously need a winning record to make the post season, whether it be the NIT or the College Basketball Invitational (a new 16-team postseason tournament this year).

That 31 is assuming the Hokies lose in the first round of the ACC tournament. If we stick with that assumption, Tech will need to win seven ACC regular season games. That would put them at 16-15 at the close of the ACC tournament, assuming they lost in the first round. An ACC team with a winning record is likely to garner an invitation to either the NIT or CBI. If Tech wins seven regular season games, then wins their first ACC tournament game before getting knocked out in the second round, they'll finish 17-15. That would just about guarantee a postseason berth.

However, the general consensus is that the Hokies will not win seven ACC games. They'd have to go 7-8 over the next 15 games. That will be tough, with so many young players.