Just after 8 p.m. ET on ESPN on Selection Sunday, No. 4 Virginia Tech was announced as a No. 1 seed in the 2023 NCAA tournament.
The Hokies (27-4, 14-4 ACC) will be a host site for a NCAA tournament subregional and will open the Big Dance on Friday, March 17 in Cassell Coliseum vs. No. 16 seed Chattanooga (20-12, 9-15 SoCon). The tip time has yet to be determined. No. 8 seed USC (21-9, 11-7 Pac-12) and No. 9 seed South Dakota State (28-5, 18-0 Summit League) are the other two teams that will play in Blacksburg.
"This is a culmination of [everything]," Tech head coach Kenny Brooks. "It's monumental. Obviously, it's a huge step for our program. We'll take advantage of it, give Hokie Nation a great opportunity to come out and represent. It was a wonderful thing last year to watch the softball team and baseball team go through the same experience and the home field advantage that it provided."
The Hokies will face the Mocs, led by first-year head coach Shawn Poppie, the former associate head coach at Tech. Chattanooga won eight of its last 10 games, including the SoCon championship over Wofford on March 5. Brooks and Poppie FaceTimed during the selection ceremony, and Brooks joked that neither team has to scout since they run the same plays.
"Once they announced the play-in game for South Carolina ... and it wasn't [Chattanooga], we started texting each other like, 'Bruh, is this going to happen?'" Brooks said of his conversation with Poppie. "I was so surprised when it did happen because there were a lot of things that went across the country today with upsets.
"But we're just excited. ... There will be a lot of familiarity, I've watched them play some and a lot of familiarity with his offenses and what they do. I'm sure they'll be many with us [for them]. It'll be a good opening round game."
The Hokies are 5-0 all-time against the Mocs, 2-0 under Brooks. The last meeting came in November 2018, a 74-59 victory in Blacksburg. Poppie was an assistant on the Tech staff at the time and for VT's 2017 win in Chattanooga, 64-44.
It's the highest seed in program history for Virginia Tech, surpassing the 1999 team that earned a No. 4 seed. For the fourth time, the Hokies will host a subregional; they did so in 1994 (0-1 record), 1999 (2-0) and 2004 (1-1).
It's the 12th NCAA tournament appearance and the third straight under Brooks. Tech's also made three consecutive trips for the second time, joining the 2003-06 group.
"It's definitely what I dreamed of," Tech forward Taylor Soule said of being a No. 1 seed. "Did I think it was going to be in Blacksburg, Virginia? Absolutely not. But I wouldn't have it any other way."
Tech beat Louisville by eight, 75-67, to win the ACC tournament on Sunday, March 5 in Greensboro. In the seventh year under Kenny Brooks, the group has won 11 consecutive games, a streak that started on Jan. 29. Eight of those victories were against teams that made the NCAA tournament field: Duke (twice), Florida State, Louisville, Miami, NC State (twice) and North Carolina.
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