The Tech Sideline Podcast: The Virginia Tech Hokies · TechSideline.com

The TSL Basketball Show: Virginia Tech WBB Sweeps UVa, Virginia Tech MBB Faces Two Final Games

·1 hr 1 min·4 clips

North Carolina's 7-foot center Henry Vessar changed the game by opening the second half with seven straight makes.

The show starts on a Tuesday in early March and quickly settles into the state of Virginia Tech men's basketball. The panel notes that the Hokies are 18-11 overall, 7-9 in the ACC, 54th in the NET, and 12th in the league. The only game since the last episode was an 89-82 road loss at UNC, but the hosts treat it as a solid showing against a top-20 team that is unbeaten at home. They make clear that if Virginia Tech misses the NCAA tournament, that loss will not be the reason. The discussion then shifts to Tyler Johnson and how much he should play down the stretch. The panel wants to give him more run, while also keeping matchup realities in mind against Boston College and Virginia. They expect him to log plenty of minutes against BC, maybe 12 to 15, and think his role will keep expanding as the Hokies move through the season. The hosts like the steadiness he brings on the floor, pointing to his defense, rebounding, and shot selection, and they describe him as someone who can handle the toughest opposing player. The bracketology segment follows that same logic. Joe Lunardi has Virginia Tech as the last team in his first four out, and Bracket Matrix has the Hokies in 10 of 105 brackets. With BC at home and UVA on the road still ahead, the panel says the team almost has to win out. A side note adds that New Mexico, currently in the last four in, finishes with Colorado State and Utah State, so the Hokies could still get some help. The episode keeps its focus on the math and the matchups instead of pretending the situation is cleaner than it is.

As heard by us

A grounded reset on Virginia Tech basketball with two games left.

Virginia Tech's basketball picture is framed as a late season ledger: 18-11 overall, 7-9 in the ACC, coming off the 89-82 road loss at UNC. The panel keeps the discussion practical, with Tyler Johnson's role doing most of the work and his minutes left to sort out against Boston…

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

Need the Hokies' bracket math without the noise?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Tech Sideline Podcast: The Virginia Tech Hokies