Virginia Tech Basketball: 5 Key Games to Finally Bursting the Bubble

Seth Greenberg and his Virginia Tech Hokies have been denied an NCAA tournament berth four years running. This year, without the presence of Malcolm Delaney, Jeff Allen and Terrell Bell, the Hokies are relying on some freshmen to hopefully break the NIT trend.

Greenberg has gotten the start he was hoping for with three victories to open the season, all by double digits.

In order to continue this success, the freshmen will need to shake their nerves quickly for a trip to Madison Square Garden to take on No. 5 Syracuse. Virginia Tech will need to rely on senior leadership from Dorenzo Hudson and Victor Davila in conjunction with the freshman talent.

These five games (listed chronologically) could decide whether these young Hokies go dancing in March.

November 30th at Minnesota

If Minnesota is first on this list then that means the game Thanksgiving Eve against Syracuse is not included, which seems a bit odd at first considering they are a Top Five team and the biggest test the Hokies will face before the New Year.

However, losing to a Top Five team is never going to hurt your program, in fact it is usually better than beating up on lower-tier competition (Monmouth, Norfolk State, North Florida).

The game in Minneapolis is part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, one that the ACC had dominated until last year. Winning on the road is never easy, especially so far from home.

If Tech can pull off this road win against a good Big Ten team, their resume will be that much harder to overlook when push comes to shove.

December 7th at Rhode Island

The Rams of Rhode Island have been a top Atlantic Ten team for some years now, and although they have failed to make a real national splash, they are a very dangerous team as the Hokies saw two years ago when they lost at home to Rhode Island

December 31st at Oklahoma State

Last year Virginia Tech overcame a sloppy performance and managed to defeat the Cowboys on a neutral floor despite trailing for almost the whole game.

The funny thing about this matchup is that it might actually be the second time these two teams meet this year. Both squads are in the final four of the NIT tip-off, and if they both win (or both lose) on Wednesday then they will meet Friday in the finals/consolation.

Oklahoma State, led by Keiton Page, is expected to do very well this year in the Big 12 but like the Hokies will look to finally get back to the March Madness this year.

The Hokies will likely not be expected to win this game, but if they can find a way to pull out a W in Stillwater (or MSG) it will certainly grab the selection committee's attention.

January 22nd at Virginia

If you had to point to one team for single-handedly keeping Virginia Tech out of the NCAA tournament last year, it would have to be the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Wahoos managed to beat the Hokies in both Blacksburg and Charlottesville last year, proving to be two "bad losses" that kept Seth Greenberg's bunch from going dancing.

UVA returns most of their key contributors this year and was voted by the media to finish in the top half of the ACC.

Tech plays UVA twice, as always, but can ill afford to lose twice to their in-state rivals again. A road win in Charlottesville would help set the stage for the ACC schedule and give the Hokies some national credibility.

February 2nd vs. Duke

This was a game last year that everybody thought would springboard Tech into the NCAA tournament, especially given that Duke was the top-ranked team in the country. However, a mini-collapse that followed prevented that from happening.

This year, Tech will need to bring the same energy and emotion they showed last year when they pulled off a huge upset on national television. Home losses in ACC play are tough to swallow, and with UNC also visiting Cassell Coliseum, Tech may need to pull another one out against Duke if they want to escape the NIT.

None of the games on this list are in the last 10 on the Hokies' schedule, which is not an accident. With such a young squad, the Hokies may know by the first half of the season whether or not March Madness is a realistic goal.

Tech is off to a good start so far this season but will need to win these key games and surprise some people if they want to give Davila and Hudson one shot at the big dance before they go.