Virginia Tech is looking for answers - and fast. After a hot start that saw the Hokies grind out four overtime wins in the first two months of the season, 2026 has been far less kind. They've now dropped three of their last four, and the margin for error has been razor-thin: a combined five points separating them from flipping those losses into wins.
Now sitting at 13-5 overall and 2-3 in ACC play, Virginia Tech returns to Cassell Coliseum this Saturday hoping to steady the ship against a struggling Notre Dame squad that’s also searching for its footing.
The Hokies are still reeling from a gut-punch of a loss on Wednesday - a 77-76 heartbreaker at SMU that ended with Boopie Miller drilling a half-court buzzer-beater. It was a sequence that left head coach Mike Young stunned.
“When he threw the ball up, you could’ve knocked me over with a feather,” Young said postgame.
But the shot wasn’t the only issue. Virginia Tech had a chance to close the game out in the final seven seconds but coughed up a turnover and missed the front end of two one-and-one opportunities. That’s the kind of late-game execution that turns close wins into crushing losses.
And this wasn’t the first time the Hokies let one slip away. Just a week earlier, they let a 12-point lead with 2:18 left vanish against Stanford. That game ended with Ebuka Okorie knocking down a stepback three in the closing seconds to hand Tech a 69-68 loss.
Still, there’s reason for optimism in Blacksburg. Tobi Lawal - last season’s leading scorer and rebounder - is back in the lineup after missing nine games with a foot injury. His return gives the Hokies a much-needed boost in the paint and adds depth to a core that already includes Amani Hansberry, who’s averaging 15.5 points and 9.1 boards, and Neoklis Avdalas, who brings 14.2 points and 5.1 assists per game to the table.
On the other side, Notre Dame isn’t exactly riding high either. The Fighting Irish have dropped four of their last five, and the absence of their top scorer and floor general, Markus Burton, has loomed large. Burton, who was averaging 18.5 points per game before suffering an ankle injury in early December, hasn’t been easy to replace.
Without him, Notre Dame has struggled to take care of the basketball. Over the last five games, the Irish have committed 66 turnovers - more than double their opponents’ total of 31 - and those giveaways have led directly to 74 points.
It’s no surprise then that Notre Dame sits at the bottom of the ACC in both turnover margin (minus-2.7) and assist-to-turnover ratio (0.99). The latest example came Tuesday night in an 81-69 home loss to Miami, where the Irish turned it over 18 times - their worst mark of the season.
“This group has to find a way without (Burton),” head coach Micah Shrewsberry said afterward.
In Burton’s absence, freshman Jalen Haralson has stepped up, averaging 15.1 points per game, while Carson Towt has been a steady presence on the glass, pulling down 10.2 rebounds per contest.
So Saturday’s matchup in Blacksburg isn’t just another ACC game - it’s a crossroads for both programs. Virginia Tech is trying to shake off a string of close losses and rediscover the edge that carried them through the early part of the season. Notre Dame is trying to survive without its star and stop the bleeding before the conference schedule gets any tougher.
Two teams. One shared sense of urgency. Something’s got to give.