Two years ago the Virginia Tech entered the NCAA Tournament as a 4-seed, the third straight year in the tournament. Wins over Saint Louis and Liberty moved the Hokies into Sweet Sixteen for the first time in the modern era. There they fell to Duke by two points in the final minute of the game, nearly taking on Michigan State in the Elite Eight. After the season, Buzz Williams left for Texas A&M and it looked like VT was in order for a full rebuild.
Enter Mike Young from Wofford. He quickly created a mixture of remaining pieces and a strong freshman class to finish 9th in the ACC before the NCAA Tournament was called off last year.