Hokies Fail to Overcome Early Deficit in 82-73 Road Loss to NC State

Virginia Tech drops to below .500 in what has become a rather frustrating go of conference play in 2026.

The Hokies have been the definition of mediocre in conference play thus far into their 2025-2026 season; for the most part, every win would come with a loss a game later, and vice versa.

After a tough loss to an elite Duke Blue Devils squad, Tech found itself faced with an uphill battle as the team looked to get above its ever-present .500-record threshold heading into a crucial month of February. 

The maroon & orange would have a chance to right its ship as it took on the 18-6 NC State Wolfpack Saturday afternoon. 

Common to many Tech losses in 2026 intraconference play, the Hokies found themselves down big and early in the first half. The Wolfpack had two notable leads in the first half – 20-7 less than 10 minutes into the matchup as well as 35-21 with 40 seconds left before the break. It goes without saying that Tech would need to make significant adjustments in the second half, as the score was 36-24 heading into halftime.

Because there was not too much scoring going on in the first half by the Hokies, Jailen Bedford led the squad in scoring for the half with six points. Neoklis Avdalas, Tobi Lawal, and Jaden Schutt all followed close behind with five points each.

Although the Hokies showed some signs of life coming out of halftime, especially with a 14-7 run to cut the Wolfpack’s lead to three roughly midway through the second half, Tech was unable to take the lead at any point the rest of the game. Tech would fall to a double-digit deficit in the latter part of the second half and, aligning with the final 82-73 score, failed to make a substantial push at stealing the victory.

Despite the outcome, four Hokies were able to secure double-digit scoring outings Saturday against the Wolfpack. Most notably, Lawal wrapped up the afternoon with 17 points and 15 rebounds – 11 of which were on the defensive end – en route to his sixth double-double on the 2025-2026 season.

While he only tallied three points in the first half, Amani Hansberry ended the game with 19 points, the most among the Hokies in the contest.

Avdalas and Schutt rounded out Tech’s double-digit scoring with 14 points and 11 points, respectively. The duo has struggled to produce over Tech’s past five games prior to Saturday; Avdalas averaged 8.5 points per game and Schutt averaged four points per game during the stretch. Regardless of Tech’s loss, the pair’s respective outings could very well serve as a confidence boost as they look to get out of their slumps.

Tech will have yet another tough bout ahead of them when it takes on No. 20 ranked Clemson on the road Wednesday. With the Hokies likely set to be the heavy upset against the Tigers, Tech could very well fall to two games under .500 in ACC play – an unideal situation for a team on the outside of the bubble watch looking in.

The Hokies’ final few home games of the 2025-2026 season should be wins, as the Blacksburg squad will face Florida State, Wake Forest, and Boston College – all teams currently sitting in the bottom half of ACC rankings. 

Though these likely wins could be valuable in terms of Tech’s season win total, they are probably not going to do much for the Hokies’ March Madness resume. What will put the Blacksburg bunch over the hump will be wins against good teams, which, despite victories against Virginia and California, Tech has not really done so far in conference play.