The Hokies’ chase for the championship is a quest that’s been brewing for multiple seasons, but the 2022-23 campaign saw the recipe get adjusted.
By the season’s end, it is indeed a gourmet plate of accomplishments.
Ranked 13th at the season’s start, the Hokies non-conference schedule included a simmering 10-0 start, notching wins over SEC squads Kentucky and Missouri in the Bahamas and Tennessee in Knoxville. Plus Nebraska, in the ACC-Big Ten challenge.
The heat got turned down when Notre Dame came to visit in mid-December.
And the recipe didn’t improve after a disappointing road loss at Clemson.
January saw the temperature and cook time get adjusted, multiple times.
A loss at Miami, a two-point win over Louisville. And then, the turning point – an eleven-point road loss to No. 16 Duke that would eventually change the flavor of the rest of the season.
The Hokies menu description would now gel into one of a contender – not just in the conference, but in the nation.
Eleven straight conference wins, including their first ACC Tournament title, left Virginia Tech tasting the kind of success the program had never enjoyed before.
With the one seed, comes the chance to host, and Hokies fans loved the cuisine that was served.
A 25-point win over Chattanooga and a 12-point dismissal of South Dakota State.
Delivering the just desserts of a Sweet Sixteen appearance in Seattle, two more helpings of victory followed.
First over 24th ranked Tennessee in a rematch and then, in the midst of a first ever Elite 8 berth, they devoured three-seed Ohio State.
Virginia Tech’s season has been a smorgasbord of special – a complete menu of madness never seen before in Blacksburg.