Virginia Tech Basketball postponed against FSU (again)

On Wednesday the ACC announced that the upcoming contest between Virginia Tech and Florida State was being postponed due to the lingering positive test(s) in the Hokies’ program. It marks the second time this season a game against FSU has been called off and the third in a row for Tech. Clemson at Pittsburgh and North Carolina at Boston College were also postponed.

The last time the Hokies played was on February 6th, the overtime win against Miami. Up next for VT, in theory, would be a three-game homestand starting with Georgia Tech on February 23rd — a 17-day break. If the Tech can clear COVID-19 protocols and future rounds of testing, they’d face the Yellow Jackets, Wake Forest, and then the rescheduled Louisville trip. The potential to pick up three ACC wins in just about a one-week span. And will Tyrece Radford be cleared to return to the team before the regular season ends?

This is the 7th game this season postponed or canceled. However, with only one rescheduled thus far and just a few weeks until the potential ACC tournament, it remains unlikely many more, if any, additional games are made up. But does the loss of games really hurt the Hokies' chances for the NCAA Tournament? Honestly, FSU might be the best team in the conference. This pair of games is a chance to boost the Hokies’ NCAA resume but could have also been two big losses (see FSU’s drubbing of UVA earlier this week).

Given the number of schools that have dealt with issues throughout the season, and will continue to do so, have few games have been played, and won, isn’t making much of a difference in NCAA rankings or tournament projections. Everyone is going to end with different records at the end of the regular season. And who knows how the various conference tournaments will be played out? Will they all take place at all? Will there be fewer teams that make post-season play?

During this stretch of missed contests, the Hokies have remained ranked in the top 20. Tech held at 17th and 18th in the polls this week. ESPN places VT in the ‘should be in’ category in their Bubble Watch along with FSU, Louisville, and Clemson. Likewise, the Hokies are still a 6-seed in the most recent Bracketology update.

First and foremost, we want everyone within the program to be back to full health. Secondly, we all enjoy watching the Hokies play, especially this team this year, and can’t wait until they get back on the court. But we knew that this season was going to be a start-stop affair and Tech was lucky to avoid any issues for as long as they did for now. So enjoy the weekend and perhaps we are able to see them back in action next Tuesday against Georgia Tech.