# 2021–22 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team

The 2021–22 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2021–22 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hokies are led by third-year head coach Mike Young and played their home games at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the season 23–13, 11–9 in ACC play to finish in seventh place. As the No. 7 seed, they defeated Clemson, Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Duke to win the ACC tournament. They received the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed in the East Region, where they lost in the first round to Texas.

## Previous season

The Hokies finished the 2020–21 season 15–7, 9–4 in ACC play, to finish in third place. They lost to North Carolina in the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament after earning a double-bye into the quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 10 seed in the South Region where they lost to Florida in the first round.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Joe Bamisile | 1 | G | 6'4" | 195 | Freshman | Chesterfield, VA | Transferred to George Washington |
| Cartier Diarra | 2 | G | 6'4" | 185 | Graduate Student | Florence, SC | Graduated |
| Wabissa Bede | 3 | G | 6'1" | 195 | Graduate Student | North Andover, MA | Graduated |
| Grant Yates | 10 | F | 6'8" | 205 | RS Sophomore | Gainesville, VA | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Gill Williamson | 11 | F | 6'8" | 195 | Freshman | Richmond, VA | Walk-on; didn't return |
| Jalen Cone | 15 | G | 5'10" | 165 | Sophomore | Walkertown, NC | Transferred to Northern Arizona |
| Tyrece Radford | 23 | G | 6'2" | 200 | RS Sophomore | Baton Rouge, LA | Transferred to Texas A&M |
| Cordell Pemsl | 35 | F | 6'9" | 250 | Graduate Student | Dubuque, IA | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Storm Murphy | 5 | G | 6'0" | 185 | Graduate Student | Middleton, WI | Wofford |
| Lynn Kidd | 15 | C | 6'10" | 240 | Sophomore | Gainesville, FL | Clemson |

### 2021 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| Sean Pedulla #38 PG | Edmond, OK | Edmond Memorial High School | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Oct 19, 2020 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Jalen Haynes #28 C | Fort Lauderdale, FL | Monteverde Academy | 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Apr 15, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 78 ||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: ||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Virginia Tech Hokies". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 26, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 26, 2021. ||||||

### 2022 Recruiting class

College recruiting information (2022) :
| Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date |
| M. J. Collins #20 SG | Clover, SC | Westminster Catawba Christian | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) | 175 lb (79 kg) | Jul 4, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 82 |||||||
| Pat Wessler #45 C | Charlotte, NC | Combine Academy | 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) | 225 lb (102 kg) | Sep 19, 2021 |
| Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 79 |||||||
| Overall recruiting rankings: |||||||
| Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Virginia Tech Hokies". ESPN.com. Retrieved September 26, 2021. "2021 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 26, 2021. |||||||

## Schedule and results

Source:
| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | High points | High rebounds | High assists | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season |||||||||
| November 9, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Maine | W 82–47 | 1–0 | 15 – Tied | 7 – Tied | 6 – Mutts | Cassell Coliseum (6,473) Blacksburg, VA |
| November 12, 2021* 8:30 p.m., CBSSN | | at Navy Veterans Classic | W 77–57 | 2–0 | 20 – Aluma | 7 – Mutts | 4 – Cattoor | Alumni Hall (4,787) Annapolis, MD |
| November 15, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Radford New River Valley rivalry | W 65–39 | 3–0 | 17 – Murphy | 9 – Cattoor | 3 – Tied | Cassell Coliseum (6,835) Blacksburg, VA |
| November 18, 2021* 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | Saint Francis (PA) | W 85–55 | 4–0 | 18 – Tied | 8 – N'Guessan | 3 – Murphy | Cassell Coliseum (6,437) Blacksburg, VA |
| November 21, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | Merrimack | W 72–43 | 5–0 | 14 – Murphy | 7 – Mutts | 5 – Mutts | Cassell Coliseum (4,730) Blacksburg, VA |
| November 24, 2021* 9:30 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. No. 9 Memphis NIT Season Tip-Off semifinals | L 61–69 | 5–1 | 21 – Alleyne | 12 – Mutts | 4 – Alleyne | Barclays Center (2,804) Brooklyn, NY |
| November 26, 2021* 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. No. 25 Xavier NIT Season Tip-Off 3rd place game | L 58–59 | 5–2 | 18 – Alleyne | 11 – Mutts | 4 – Cattoor | Barclays Center (0) Brooklyn, NY |
| December 1, 2021* 7:15 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Maryland ACC–Big Ten Challenge | W 62–58 | 6–2 | 17 – Aluma | 12 – Aluma | 4 – Tied | Xfinity Center (15,988) College Park, MD |
| December 4, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCN | | Wake Forest | L 61–80 | 6–3 (0–1) | 23 – Aluma | 9 – Aluma | 5 – Aluma | Cassell Coliseum (8,925) Blacksburg, VA |
| December 8, 2021* 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | Cornell | W 93–60 | 7–3 | 16 – Aluma | 9 – N'Guessan | 4 – Tied | Cassell Coliseum (6,403) Blacksburg, VA |
| December 12, 2021* 2:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Dayton | L 57–62 | 7–4 | 14 – Tied | 10 – Mutts | 5 – Murphy | UD Arena (13,407) Dayton, OH |
| December 17, 2021* 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | vs. St. Bonaventure Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout | W 86–49 | 8–4 | 21 – Cattoor | 7 – Mutts | 4 – Aluma | Spertrum Center (0) Charlotte, NC |
| December 22, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at No. 2 Duke | L 65–76 | 8–5 (0–2) | 25 – Aluma | 10 – Aluma | 4 – Murphy | Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314) Durham, NC |
| January 4, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | NC State | L 63–68 | 8–6 (0–3) | 18 – Aluma | 7 – Mutts | 5 – Murphy | Cassell Coliseum (5,148) Blacksburg, VA |
| January 12, 2022 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | at Virginia Rivalry | L 52–54 | 8–7 (0–4) | 22 – Aluma | 6 – Tied | 5 – Cattoor | John Paul Jones Arena (13,573) Charlottesville, VA |
| January 15, 2022 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Notre Dame | W 79–73 | 9–7 (1–4) | 24 – Mutts | 8 – Aluma | 3 – Mutts | Cassell Coliseum (8,925) Blacksburg, VA |
| January 19, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at NC State | W 62–59 | 10–7 (2–4) | 13 – Mutts | 11 – Aluma | 4 – Tied | PNC Arena (13,286) Raleigh, NC |
| January 22, 2022 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Boston College | L 63–68 | 10–8 (2–5) | 21 – Aluma | 8 – Aluma | 3 – Tied | Conte Forum (4,714) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| January 24, 2022 8:00 p.m., ACCN | | at North Carolina Rescheduled from December 29 | L 68–78 | 10–9 (2–6) | 19 – Aluma | 10 – Mutts | 4 – Pedulla | Dean Smith Center (19,357) Chapel Hill, NC |
| January 26, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | Miami (FL) | L 75–78 | 10–10 (2–7) | 14 – Aluma | 10 – Mutts | 8 – Mutts | Cassell Coliseum (7,086) Blacksburg, VA |
| January 29, 2022 3:00 p.m., ABC | | at Florida State | W 85–72 | 11–10 (3–7) | 27 – Cattoor | 5 – Mutts | 5 – Murphy | Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (11,500) Tallahassee, Florida |
| February 2, 2022 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | Georgia Tech | W 81–66 | 12–10 (4–7) | 24 – Aluma | 8 – Mutts | 4 – Mutts | Cassell Coliseum (6,887) Blacksburg, VA |
| February 5, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Pittsburgh | W 76–71 | 13–10 (5–7) | 20 – Murphy | 5 – Mutts | 4 – Murphy | Petersen Events Center (8,533) Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 7, 2022 7:00 p.m., ACCN | | Pittsburgh Rescheduled from January 1 | W 74–47 | 14–10 (6–7) | 18 – Aluma | 9 – Mutts | 7 – Pedulla | Cassell Coliseum (8,925) Blacksburg, VA |
| February 12, 2022 6:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Syracuse | W 71–59 | 15–10 (7–7) | 20 – Aluma | 14 – Mutts | 11 – Mutts | Cassell Coliseum (8,925) Blacksburg, VA |
| February 14, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN | | Virginia Rivalry | W 62–53 | 16–10 (8–7) | 24 – Aluma | 8 – Aluma | 5 – Mutts | Cassell Coliseum (9,825) Blacksburg, VA |
| February 19, 2022 4:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | North Carolina | L 57–65 | 16–11 (8–8) | 16 – Aluma | 9 – Aluma | 4 – Murphy | Cassell Coliseum (9,825) Blacksburg, VA |
| February 23, 2022 9:00 p.m., ACCN | | at Georgia Tech | W 62–58 | 17–11 (9–8) | 12 – 3 tied | 10 – Aluma | 3 – Tied | McCamish Pavilion (4,150) Atlanta, GA |
| February 26, 2022 3:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Miami (FL) | W 71–70 | 18–11 (10–8) | 18 – Aluma | 10 – Aluma | 6 – Tied | Watsco Center (5,979) Coral Gables, FL |
| March 1, 2022 9:00 p.m., ESPN2 | | Louisville | W 75–43 | 19–11 (11–8) | 14 – Mutts | 10 – Mutts | 6 – Mutts | Cassell Coliseum (8,925) Blacksburg, VA |
| March 5, 2022 2:00 p.m., ACCRSN | | at Clemson | L 59–63 | 19–12 (11–9) | 17 – Alleyne | 9 – Mutts | 3 – Aluma | Littlejohn Coliseum (7,295) Clemson, SC |
| ACC tournament |||||||||
| March 9, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (7) | vs. (10) Clemson Second round | W 76–75 $^{OT}$ | 20–12 | 19 – Aluma | 10 – Aluma | 4 – Murphy | Barclays Center (8,174) Brooklyn, NY |
| March 10, 2022 7:00 p.m., ESPN2 | (7) | vs. (2) Notre Dame Quarterfinals | W 87–80 | 21–12 | 20 – Aluma | 10 – Mutts | 5 – Mutts | Barclays Center Brooklyn, NY |
| March 11, 2022 9:30 p.m., ESPN | (7) | vs. (3) No. 25 North Carolina Semifinals | W 72–59 | 22–12 | 20 – Maddox | 6 – Maddox | 7 – Murphy | Barclays Center (15,994) Brooklyn, NY |
| March 12, 2022 8:30 p.m., ESPN | (7) | vs. (1) No. 7 Duke Championship | W 82–67 | 23–12 | 31 – Cattoor | 10 – Aluma | 7 – Aluma | Barclays Center (17,764) Brooklyn, NY |
| NCAA tournament |||||||||
| March 18, 2022 4:30 p.m., TBS | (11 E) | vs. (6 E) No. 25 Texas First Round | L 73–81 | 23–13 | 19 – Pedulla | 6 – Aluma | 5 – Mutts | Fiserv Forum (17,500) Milwaukee, WI |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern Time. |||||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | Final |
| AP | RV | RV | RV | RV | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | Not released |
| Coaches | RV | RV^ | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 24 | RV |
*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings ^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.