2020–21 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team

The 2020–21 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hokies were led by second-year head coach Mike Young and played their home games at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.^[1] In a season limited due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Hokies finished the 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.

2020–21 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball
Hall of Fame Tip Off Champions
NCAA tournament, first round
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 25
Record	15–7 (9–4 ACC)
Head coach	Mike Young (2nd season)
Assistant coaches	Chester Frazier Christian Webster Kevin Giltner
Home arena	Cassell Coliseum
Seasons ← 2019–20 2021–22 →

2020–21 ACC men's basketball standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		PCT			W		L		PCT
No. 15 Virginia	13	–	4		.765			18	–	7		.720
No. 14 Florida State	11	–	4		.733			18	–	7		.720
No. 25 Virginia Tech	9	–	4		.692			15	–	7		.682
Georgia Tech †	11	–	6		.647			17	–	9		.654
Clemson	10	–	6		.625			16	–	8		.667
North Carolina	10	–	6		.625			18	–	11		.621
Louisville	8	–	5		.615			13	–	7		.650
Syracuse	9	–	7		.563			18	–	10		.643
NC State	9	–	8		.529			14	–	11		.560
Duke	9	–	9		.500			13	–	11		.542
Notre Dame	7	–	11		.389			11	–	15		.423
Pittsburgh	6	–	10		.375			10	–	12		.455
Miami (FL)	4	–	15		.211			10	–	17		.370
Wake Forest	3	–	15		.167			6	–	16		.273
Boston College	2	–	11		.154			4	–	16		.200
† 2021 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

Previous season

The Hokies finished the 2019–20 season 16–16, 7–13 in ACC play to finish in a tie for 10th place. They lost to North Carolina in the first round of the ACC tournament. The tournament was thereafter canceled due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.^[2] The NCAA tournament and all other postseason tournaments were also cancelled due to the pandemic.^[3]

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Isaiah Wilkins	1	G	6'4"	225	Sophomore	Winston-Salem, NC	Transferred to Wake Forest
Landers Nolley II	2	G/F	6'7"	225	Freshman	Atlanta, GA	Transferred to Memphis
Jonathan Kabongo	10	G	6'4"	195	Sophomore	Toronto, Canada	Retired due to injury
Brendan Palmer	11	G	6'4"	195	Sophomore	Winston-Salem, NC	Entered Transfer Portal
P. J. Horne	14	F	6'6"	225	Junior	Tifton, GA	Transferred to Georgia
Branden Johnson	24	G	6'8"	230	Graduate student	Garfield Heights, OH	Graduated
Ryan Payne	25	F	6'8"	220	Junior	Mechanicsville, VA	—

Incoming transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Previous school
Cartier Diarra	2	G	6'4"	185	Graduate student	Florence, SC	Kansas State
Justyn Mutts	25	F	6'7"	230	Junior	Millville, NJ	Delaware
Cordell Pemsl	35	F	6'9"	250	Graduate student	Dubuque, IA	Iowa

2020 recruiting class

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Joe Bamisile PG / SG	Richmond, Virginia	Monacan High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Jul 25, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 83
Darius Maddox SG	Bowie, Maryland	Oak Hill Academy	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Aug 16, 2019
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 81
David N'Guessan PF	Baltimore, Maryland	Mt. Zion Prep	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Mar 19, 2020
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A   Rivals: N/A   247Sports:
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 November 28, 2020. "2020 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved November 28, 2020.

Roster

2020–21 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown G 0 Hunter Cattoor 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) So Bishop Moore Orlando, FL G 1 Joe Bamisile 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr Monacan Chesterfield, VA G 2 Cartier Diarra 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) GS Kansas State Florence, SC G 3 Wabissa Bede 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg) GS Cushing Academy North Andover, MA G 4 Nahiem Alleyne 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) So Mountain View Buford, GA F 5 David N'Guessan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Mt. Zion Prep De Lier, Netherlands F 10 Grant Yates (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) RS So Christopher Newport Gainesville, VA F 11 Gill Williamson (W) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Fr St. Christopher's Richmond, VA G 13 Dairus Maddox 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Fr Oak Hill Academy Bowie, MD G 15 Jalen Cone 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Walkertown Walkertown, NC F 21 John Ojiako 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Admiral Farragut Lagos, Nigeria F 22 Keve Aluma 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) RS Jr Wofford Berlin, MD G 23 Tyrece Radford 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) RS So McKinley Baton Rouge, LA F 25 Justyn Mutts 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) RS Jr Delaware Millville, NJ F 35 Cordell Pemsl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) GS Iowa Dubuque, IA	Head coach Mike Young (Emory & Henry) Assistant coach(es) Chester Frazier (Illinois) Christian Webster (Harvard) Kevin Giltner (Wofford) Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible (W) Walk-on   Injured   Current redshirt Roster Last update: November 28, 2020

Schedule and results

Source:^[4]

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Regular season
November 25, 2020* 12:00 p.m., ACCNX		Radford	W 77–62	1–0	19 – Aluma	7 – Bamisile	5 – Radford	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
November 28, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ESPNU		vs. No. 3 Villanova Hall of Fame Tip Off	W 81–73 ^OT	2–0	23 – Aluma	13 – Radford	5 – Radford	Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT
November 29, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ESPN2		vs. South Florida Hall of Fame Tip Off	W 76–58	3–0	21 – Radford	9 – Mutts	3 – Tied	Mohegan Sun Arena (0) Uncasville, CT
December 3, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 16	VMI	W 64–57	4–0	17 – Aluma	12 – Aluma	6 – Mutts	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
December 8, 2020* 9:00 p.m., ESPNU	No. 15	Penn State ACC–Big Ten Challenge	L 55–75	4–1	11 – Cone	12 – Aluma	3 – Radford	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
December 15, 2020 6:30 p.m., ACCN		No. 24 Clemson	W 66–60	5–1 (1–0)	15 – Radford	6 – Cattoor	3 – Mutts	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
December 19, 2020* 5:30 p.m., ACCRSN		Coppin State	W 97–57	6–1	18 – Tied	7 – Aluma	5 – Tied	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
December 21, 2020* 8:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 24	Longwood	W 84–58	7–1	14 – Aluma	8 – Radford	8 – Bede	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
December 29, 2020 6:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 24	Miami (FL)	W 80–78	8–1 (2–0)	26 – Aluma	9 – Mutts	4 – Aluma	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
January 2, 2021 4:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 24	at No. 23 Virginia Commonwealth Classic	Postponed^[5]					John Paul Jones Arena  Charlottesville, Virginia
January 6, 2021 6:30 p.m., ACCN	No. 19	at Louisville	L 71–73	8–2 (2–1)	23 – Cone	8 – Mutts	3 – Tied	KFC Yum! Center (2,966) Louisville, KY
January 10, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 19	Notre Dame	W 77–63	9–2 (3–1)	18 – Cone	12 – Aluma	2 – Tied	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
January 12, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 20	No. 19 Duke	W 74–67	10–2 (4–1)	18 – Radford	12 – Radford	5 – Radford	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
January 17, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 20	at Wake Forest	W 64–60	11–2 (5–1)	20 – Radford	11 – Aluma	2 – Tied	LJVM Coliseum (89) Winston-Salem, NC
January 20, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 16	Boston College	Postponed^[6]					Cassell Coliseum  Blacksburg, VA
January 23, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN	No. 16	at Syracuse	L 60–78	11–3 (5–2)	20 – Alleyne	8 – Mutts	4 – Aluma	Carrier Dome (0) Syracuse, NY
January 27, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN	No. 20	at Notre Dame	W 62–51	12–3 (6–2)	15 – Alleyne	12 – Aluma	5 – Alleyne	Purcell Pavilion (103) Notre Dame, IN
January 30, 2021 6:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 20	No. 8 Virginia Commonwealth Classic	W 65–51	13–3 (7–2)	29 – Aluma	10 – Aluma	5 – Bede	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
February 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCRSN	No. 16	at Pittsburgh	L 72–83	13–4 (7–3)	30 – Aluma	10 – Aluma	5 – Tied	Peterson Events Center (500) Pittsburgh, PA
February 6, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCRSN	No. 16	at Miami (FL)	W 80–76 ^OT	14–4 (8–3)	22 – Mutts	9 – Mutts	7 – Mutts	Watsco Center (0) Coral Gables, FL
February 9, 2021 8:30 p.m., ACCN	No. 18	No. 17 Florida State	Postponed^[7]					Cassell Coliseum  Blacksburg, VA
February 16, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 18	at North Carolina	Postponed^[8]					Dean Smith Center  Chapel Hill, NC
February 20, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 18	at No. 16 Florida State	Postponed^[9]					Donald L. Tucker Center  Tallahassee, FL
February 23, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 16	Georgia Tech	L 53–69	14–5 (8–4)	12 – Tied	14 – Aluma	5 – Aluma	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
February 27, 2021 12:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 16	Wake Forest	W 84–46	15–5 (9–4)	23 – Aluma	8 – Aluma	5 – Tied	Cassell Coliseum (250) Blacksburg, VA
March 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ESPN2	No. 22	Louisville	Canceled^[10]					Cassell Coliseum  Blacksburg, VA
March 6, 2021 2:00 p.m., ACCRSN	No. 22	at NC State	Canceled^[11]					PNC Arena  Raleigh, NC
ACC tournament
March 11, 2021 9:00 p.m., ESPN	(3) No. 22	vs. (6) North Carolina Quarterfinals	L 73–81	15–6	24 – Mutts	8 – Tied	7 – Bede	Greensboro Coliseum (2,820) Greensboro, NC
NCAA tournament
March 19, 2021* 12:15 p.m., CBS	(10 S) No. 25	vs. (7 S) Florida First Round	L 70–75 ^OT	15–7	28 – Alleyne	7 – Aluma	4 – Mutts	Hinkle Fieldhouse  Indianapolis, IN
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. S=South. All times are in Eastern Time.

Rankings

See also: 2020–21 NCAA Division I men's basketball rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked. RV = Received votes. т = Tied with team above or below.

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AP	—	16	15	RV	24	24	19т	20	16	20	16	18	18	16	22	22	25	Not released
Coaches	—	—^	15	RV	RV	RV	20	20	14	19	16	17т	17	15	19	21	24	RV

*AP does not release post-NCAA tournament rankings
^Coaches did not release a Week 1 poll.

References

1. Borzello, Jeff (April 7, 2019). "Va. Tech hires Wofford's Young as new coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
2. "Statement from ACC on Men's Basketball Tournament". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. Retrieved March 12, 2020.
3. "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". from the original on March 12, 2020.
4. "2020-21 Men's Basketball Schedule". www.hokiesports.com. Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved November 28, 2020.
5. "Virginia Tech at Virginia Men's Basketball Game Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 1, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2021.
6. "Boston College at Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Game Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
7. "Basketball Games vs. BC, Pitt and Va. Tech Postponed". Seminoles.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 1, 2021. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
8. "Virginia Tech at North Carolina Men's Basketball Game Postponed". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 13, 2021. Retrieved February 13, 2021.
9. "ACC Announces Men's Basketball Schedule Changes". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. February 17, 2021. Retrieved February 17, 2021.
10. "Louisville at Virginia Tech Men's Basketball Game Canceled". theacc.com. The Atlantic Coast Conference. March 2, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2021.
11. "Saturday's Game Against Virginia Tech Canceled". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. March 3, 2021. Retrieved March 4, 2021.