With the basketball season coming to a close, both the men’s and women’s teams ready themselves for the ACC Tournaments. The Lady Jackets are already set as the No. 9 seed with their first game of the tournament coming against the Virginia Tech Hokies on March 6. The men’s team still has one game left where their seeding or opponent could both change. Both Tech teams look to position themselves as a team to watch in March Madness.
Tech’s women’s basketball team had a successful season for much of the year, one mostly characterized by streaks. The Jackets started their season on a 15-game win streak, which was both the best start and longest win streak in program history. Due to the historic success, Tech was ranked No. 13 in the country, the highest ranking of the program since 2022. After the win streak, the Jackets dropped their first game of the season to Virginia Tech in a double-overtime thriller. After the loss to the Hokies, the Jackets lost the next two games to the Louisville Cardinals and Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Tech got back on course, going 6-2 in their next eight games, highlighted by wins over the Boston College Eagles and Virginia Cavaliers. To close out the season, the Jackets went on another streak, but this time a losing one. Tech dropped four consecutive games to end the season with each team taking advantage of the Jackets’ lack of size. Despite ending their season on a four game losing-streak, Tech finished regular season play with a 21-9 overall record and 9-9 in the ACC.
The Lady Jackets earned the No. 9 seed in the ACC and faced off against Virginia Tech in their first matchup of the ACC Tournament. The game against the Hokies was a rematch from the regular season, where the Jackets lost a heartbreaking double overtime game 94-105 for Tech’s first loss of the season. In the game, Virginia Tech were extremely efficient on offense, shooting 46.8% from the field and 44.4% from behind-the-arc. On top of their efficient offense, the Wolfpack attacked the Jackets defense, earning 23 free throws. Despite the loss, the Jackets can take away some positives from the earlier game. Tech dominated the board, securing 14 offensive rebounds which resulted in 19 second chance points. On top of the relentless rebounding, the Jackets bench contributed 22 points compared to the Hokies seven. The Lady Jackets hope to take advantage of their skills and make a run in the ACC tournament.
Tech’s men’s basketball season also had an eventful season. The Jackets’ season did not start up to expectations when they dropped their second game of the season to the North Florida Ospreys. The struggles continued in ACC play, where Tech started the season with a 2-6 conference record. Despite the early tribulations, the Jackets found their footing to end the year. Tech currently owns a 8-3 record since Jan. 22 which includes upset wins over the No. 11 ranked Clemson Tigers and No. 14 ranked Louisville. In the Jacket’s last home game of the season against the University of Miami Hurricanes, Tech dominated 89-74. The Jackets were led by senior guard Lance Terry with an impressive 31 points on senior night. The Jackets cap off their regular season with a visit to Winston-Salem, N.C. and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Tech currently sits at No. 8 in the ACC and holds a record of 10-9 in the ACC and 16-14 overall.
With one game still left to play, Tech is pretty much locked into the eighth seed with a chance of the ninth seed in the ACC tournament. Holding the eighth seed, Tech would play the ninth seed in the first round of the postseason. The ninth seed in the ACC is still very much up for grabs with one game left to play for each team. The two teams competing for the ninth seed are Virginia Tech and Virginia. The ninth seed in the ACC tournament is the last seed that doesn’t have to play on the first day and only needs four wins to be crowned Conference Champions. The Jackets played each of the teams competing for the ninth seed once and held a 1-1 record in those games. Tech beat Virginia Tech 71-64 on Jan. 22 and Pitt 73-67 on Feb. 25. The Jackets loss was 61-75 against the Cavaliers. Tech should feel confident going into the ACC tournament as they look to prove that the late season run was no fluke.
Despite their seasons seemingly going drastically different ways, both Tech basketball teams ended up in very similar places within the ACC. The Lady Jackets started off the season on a historic winning streak but have since struggled at times in conference play. The men faced an almost polar opposite experience, having started off the season poorly but rounding into form in recent times. The ACC Tournament is just the start of March Madness for the Jackets with both teams hoping for strong showings and proving that they belong amongst the college basketball elite.
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