Virginia Tech Basketball Picked to Finish Fifth in the ACC in 2021-22

The ACC released its 2021-2022 preseason media poll on Tuesday and Virginia Tech was picked to finish fifth in the 15-team league.

Here’s the full poll, with point totals for each team:

The Hokies, who return three starters from last season’s NCAA Tournament team, are an experienced bunch. Mike Young added Mike Jones, the former head coach at DeMatha Catholic in Maryland, to his staff as associate head coach. Tech also made a splash in the transfer portal, adding point guard Storm Murphy from Wofford.

Tech’s three returning starters – Keve Aluma, Justyn Mutts and Nahiem Alleyne – averaged a combined 35.8 points per game last season. Aluma was named First Team All-ACC by the ACC media on Tuesday, while Young referred to Mutts as a “difference maker.” Alleyne has received plenty of praise this offseason, too.

Hunter Cattoor is back, David N’Guessan has improved tremendously and Darius Maddox has made strides this offseason. The Hokies’ confidence is through the roof, and Tech has more depth than many realize.

The fifth-place preseason pick is the highest projected order of finish for the Hokies since Buzz Williams & Co. were projected to finish fifth – and did so – in 2018-19. Tech reached the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament that season.

It’s also tied for the second-highest preseason pick in the ACC for the Hokies since they joined the ACC in 2004-05. Tech’s highest pick in the preseason poll by the media is second in 2010-11, back when the Hokies had Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen. VT finished tied for fourth that year, but did not reach the NCAA Tournament.

Virginia Tech opens its season at home on Tuesday, Nov. 9 vs. Maine in Cassell Coliseum. Here’s the full roster for 2021-22 for more information.

#	Name	Pos.	Ht.	Wt.	Class
0	Hunter Cattoor	G	6-3	200	Jr.
1	David N'Guessan	F	6-9	205	So.
3	Sean Pedulla	G	6-1	190	Fr.
4	Nahiem Alleyne	G	6-4	195	Jr.
5	Storm Murphy	G	6-1	185	Gr.
10	Camden Johnson	G	6-1	175	Fr.
11	Jalen Haynes	F	6-8	250	Fr.
13	Darius Maddox	G	6-5	185	So.
14	Ben Varga	G	5-10	170	Fr.
15	Lynn Kidd	C	6-10	240	So.
21	John Ojiako	C	6-10	245	Jr.
22	Keve Aluma	F	6-9	235	rSr.
25	Justyn Mutts	F	6-7	230	rSr.

David Cunningham’s Ballot

Here’s how I voted in my media ballot for the ACC’s predicted order of finish:

1. Duke
2. North Carolina
3. Florida State
4. Virginia Tech
5. Louisville
6. Virginia
7. Notre Dame
8. Syracuse
9. Miami
10. Clemson
11. Georgia Tech
12. NC State
13. Wake Forest
14. Pittsburgh
15. Boston College

Aluma Earns First Team All-ACC Honors

Also on Tuesday, Virginia Tech forward Keve Aluma was named to the preseason First Team All-ACC team. He received the second-most votes (52), only behind Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim (68).

Here’s the full team:

The breakdown in votes for the first team:

Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim: 68 votes
Virginia Tech’s Keve Aluma: 52
Duke’s Paolo Banchero: 49
North Carolina’s Armando Bacot: 46
Miami’s Isaiah Wong: 37

Aluma, a 6-9 redshirt senior from Berlin, Md., was named to the ACC’s First Team at the end of the 2020-21 season after averaging 15.2 points and 7.9 rebounds. He is the only returner in the conference who earned a spot on the All-ACC first or second teams in 2020-21.

Aluma also received the second-most votes (16) for ACC Preseason Player of the Year, an honor that went to Duke freshman (and ACC Rookie of the Year) Paolo Banchero (28 votes).

David Cunningham’s Ballot

Here’s how I voted in my media ballot for the All-ACC team, the conference’s player of the year and rookie of the year:

All-ACC Ballot:

• Keve Aluma, F, Virginia Tech
• Isaiah Wong, G, Miami
• Prentiss Hubb, G, Notre Dame
• Buddy Boeheim, G, Syracuse
• Armando Bacot, F/C, North Carolina

Preseason Player of the Year:

• Keve Aluma, F, Virginia Tech

Preseason Rookie of the Year:

• Paolo Banchero, F, Duke

Hokies Are Fifth In Receiving Votes in AP Poll

In the Preseason AP Top 25 College Basketball Poll that was released on Monday, Virginia Tech was fifth in “others receiving votes” with 25 points, good for 30th in the country.

Duke (9), North Carolina (19), Florida State (20) and Virginia (25) represent the ACC in the poll. Syracuse (5 votes), Notre Dame (3) and Louisville (3) all received points in the rankings, too.

Last season, Tech was unranked in the preseason poll but jumped into the rankings at No. 16 after the first week of the season (and upsetting then-No. 3 Villanova). In the final poll of last season, Young & Co. were No. 25.

The Hokies have a number of non-conference opponents on this year’s schedule in the rankings as well:

• No. 12 Memphis, who Virginia Tech will face in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. on Wed., Nov. 24. It’s a 9:30 p.m. ET tip time between the Hokies and the Tigers on ESPN2.
• No. 21 Maryland, who Virginia Tech travels to on Wed., Dec. 1. The Hokies and Terps, colliding for the first time since 2013, tip at 7:15 p.m. ET on ESPN/ESPN2.
• No. 23 St. Bonaventure, who the Hokies play in Charlotte, N.C from the Spectrum Center on Friday, Dec. 17. A 4 p.m. ET tip on ESPN2, the Bonnies won the A-10 last season.
• Xavier, who received 22 points in the rankings, good for No. 32. The Musketeers and Hokies could meet in the second game of the NIT Tip-Off in Brooklyn on Friday, Nov. 26.