Hokies’ March Madness Hopes Crushed After Heartbreaking, 95-89 Overtime Loss to Wake Forest in First Round of ACC Tournament

A 40-combined-point effort from Ben Hammond and Jailen Bedford was not enough to move Virginia Tech to the second round of the conference tournament.

This is the week Tech fans have been waiting for. This week determines the 2025-2026 Hokies’ fate.

After a first-round exit in last season’s ACC Tournament, the Hokies enter Charlotte, North Carolina’s Spectrum Center in revamped fashion this time around. Though Tech has had a roller-coaster go at conference play thus far this season, the only concern for the maroon & orange now is to just keep winning.

The 12-seed Hokies would begin their hopeful ACC Tournament run against 13-seed Wake Forest Tuesday night. The matchup marked the third meeting between the Hokies and the Demon Deacons thus far in the 2025-2026 season. Despite losing by one score to the Winston-Salem squad back on Jan. 3, Tech secured a comfortable win the second time around when it beat Wake Forest 82-63 on Feb. 21.

With standout scorer Amani Hansberry out due to injury, the Hokies’ first test on their formidable journey would come Tuesday night.

Although the Hokies found themselves down early in a 25-16 deficit with just over seven minutes left in the first half of Tuesday night’s contest, they quickly fought their way back to cut the Demon Deacons’ lead to two point with 1:10 left in the half courtesy of a drained deep ball from Hammond. 

Wake Forest would add on another two points, and the two squads would go into halftime sitting at a score of 38-34 in favor of the Demon Deacons.

Though the Hokies’ scoring effort was well-rounded in the first half against the Demon Deacons – with each Tech player who entered the game scoring at least once – Hammond was the clear standout in the box score in the half after he totaled nine points off two three-pointers and three shots from the line. 

Hammond’s energizing start against Wake Forest was a vast improvement from his ACC Tournament performance last season when he only totaled four points in Tech’s game against California.

Coming out of the break, the Hokies grabbed their first lead of the game when a Bedford layup gave the Blacksburg squad a 41-40 lead with 16:17 left in the contest. Though Wake Forest was able to respond rather quickly, a Neoklis Avdalas three-pointer gave Tech the lead right back at 44-42.

Despite Tech’s efforts, a string of missed shots in the paint by the Hokies allowed Wake Forest to capitalize and take a 71-64 lead with 4:38 remaining.

However, the Hokies fought back once again. A pair of Jaden Schutt free throws along with a made floater from Hammond brought the Hokies to within three. Shortly after, Bedford knocked down a three-point dagger to tie the game at 71 points apiece with 2:45 remaining.

The two squads traded scores and, when the dust settled, the score was tied at 75 points each with 17 seconds left. Virginia Tech would have the final possession of regulation.

Schutt inbounded to Hammond. Hammond drove to the net. Hammond put a floater up; he missed. Bedford tried to tip in the put-back for the win, but the tip-in skated off the edge of the rim.

The Hokies were going to overtime.

Though Tech was 4-0 in overtime games in the 2025-2026 regular season, it seemed the Blacksburg bunch’s luck was going to run out Tuesday night as the Demon Deacons opened up the overtime period with a five-point lead over the Hokies.

Though the Hokies kept it close for much of the period, a critical foul on Christian Gurdak allowed the Demon Deacons to make a pair of free throws and take a two-score lead with 27 seconds left.

All the Hokies could do at that point was foul and hope for a Wake Forest miscue. However, that never happened.

Despite a formidable effort, Tech would take the 95-89 loss – effectively ending the Hokies’ promising March Madness hopes.

Hammond, who has acted as a bit of an anchor for the Hokies throughout ACC play, finished off the night as Tech’s leading scorer with 23 points. Fifteen of his points came from either beyond the arc or from the free-throw line. He also played the most minutes for Tech in the contest with 40.

Bedford, Tech’s second-leading scorer on the night, tallied 17 points against the Demon Deacons. While he has been a bit of an all-around threat for most of the season, he only made one three-pointer on the night; the rest of his points came from two-point makes or from the line.

Schutt was hot from beyond the arc tonight as he knocked down three deep balls against Wake Forest. His additional six made free throws gave him a 15-point total on the night – his first double-digit outing in over a month; his most recent game with 10-or-more points was on Feb. 7 against the NC State Wolfpack when he scored 11 points.

Tobi Lawal rounded out the Hokies’ double-digit scoring Tuesday night. His 12-point outing caps off what could be his final game in a Hokie uniform.

Given that it would take a significant amount of generosity from the NCAA Tournament selection committee, the Hokies will likely not be dancing in March. However, there still may be more basketball left to play for the 2025-2026 season if the Tech accepts a likely NIT offer.

Tuesday night’s loss likely marks the end of a promising run at a March Madness bid for the Hokies. For a season built on optimism heading into the opening game, the final buzzer Tuesday night in Charlotte, North Carolina could have very well ended the Hokies’ season.

Though the Hokies will likely have to wait at least another year for a shot at the national title, they will have a lot of offseason time to make the changes to do so. Though the future of the Blacksburg squad is still up in the air, heavy movement could shake up the roster heading into the new season.

For now, however, Selection Sunday will decide the Hokies’ next steps.