With just one game remaining on its regular season schedule, there's still plenty of scenarios for Virginia Tech's seed in the ACC Tournament. The games that matter to the Hokies are their own at Clemson at Noon EST on Saturday, Wake Forest at Boston College at Noon Sunday and Florida State at NC State at 6:15 on Sunday.
Patrick Stevens over at D1scourse does a much better job than I ever could in breaking down all the scenarios, including Virginia Tech's:
VIRGINIA TECH (9-6 ACC)
* The Hokies will be the No. 3 seed with a win AND a Florida State loss
* The Hokies will be the No. 4 seed with a win AND a Florida State win
* The Hokies will be the No. 5 seed with a loss AND a Boston College loss
* The Hokies will be the No. 6 seed with a loss AND a Boston College win
Simple, right?
Well, probably more simple than you think. The most important thing is the Hokies will get a bye if they win Saturday against Clemson and will have to play in the first round of the conference tournament if they lose. After that, it doesn't matter much.
Plus, there's no way BC will lose to Wake and FSU should take care of business against NC State, even though the Pack are 4-3 at home in ACC play and the Noles are 3-4 on the road in ACC play. Both the Eagles and Noles should win, meaning the No. 4 and No. 6 seeds are likeliest.
Here's basically what I think the Hokies have to do to make the NCAA:
- Beat Clemson & don't lose to No. 12 or No. 11 seed in Q-finals of ACC tourney.
- Lose to Clemson, win two games in ACC tourney, get lucky during Championship Week
Last year, the Hokies got extremely unlucky during Championship Week. Other bubble teams played well and mid-majors that were considered in the tournament lost in their conference tournament, taking away bids from bubble teams. Lose to Clemson, and Tech will be counting bids again this year.