Mike Young and Virginia Tech open ACC play vs. Louisville on Saturday, Dec. 3. (Jon Fleming)

We're 41 days away from the start of college basketball season and the conference schedules are finally here. Along with the rest of the ACC, Virginia Tech men's basketball's conference schedule was released at 8 p.m. on Tuesday night.

The Hokies open their 2023-24 campaign against Coppin State in Cassell Coliseum at 8 p.m. ET, a doubleheader with the women's program (High Point, 5 p.m. ET). Their ACC opener is Saturday, Dec. 3 vs. Louisville in Blacksburg at 4 p.m. ET.

Tech released its non-conference schedule on Aug. 15, which includes four neutral site contests and a road trip to Auburn in the ACC/SEC Challenge. On Tuesday, the ACC announced the conference schedules for all 15 programs.

Below is the Hokies' complete 2023-24 schedule. Note that tip times and TV designations are not set in stone.

2023-24 VIRGINIA TECH MEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE AND RESULTS (19-15, 10-10 ACC)
ACC Standings - click here
All game recaps - click here
Date Opponent Time, TV
Mon 11/6/23 Coppin State W, 100-55
Fri 11/10/23 vs. South Carolina Hall of Fame Series Charlotte, N.C. L, 79-77
Wed 11/15/23 Campbell W, 60-44
Sun 11/19/23 Wofford W, 98-76
Thu 11/23/23 vs. Boise State ESPN Events Inv. Orlando, Fla. W, 82-75
Fri 11/24/23 Iowa State ESPN Events Inv. Orlando, Fla. W, 71-62
Sun 11/26/23 No. 19 FAU ESPN Events Inv. Orlando, Fla. L, 84-50
Wed 11/29/23 at Auburn ACC/SEC Challenge L, 74-57
Sun 12/3/23 Louisville W, 75-68
Sat 12/9/23 Valparaiso W, 71-50
Sat 12/16/23 Vermont W, 73-51
Thu 12/21/23 American W, 77-55
Sat 12/30/23 at Wake Forest L, 86-63
Sat 1/6/24 at Florida State L, 77-74
Wed 1/10/24 No. 21 Clemson W, 87-72
Sat 1/13/24 Miami L, 75-71
Wed 1/17/24 at Virginia L, 65-57
Sat 1/20/24 at NC State W, 84-78
Tue 1/23/24 Boston College W, 76-71
Sat 1/27/24 Georgia Tech W, 91-67
Mon 1/29/24 No. 7 Duke L, 77-67
Sat 2/3/24 at Miami L, 82-74
Sat 2/10/24 at Notre Dame L, 74-66
Tue 2/13/24 Florida State W, 83-75
Sat 2/17/24 at No. 7 UNC L, 96-81
Mon 2/19/24 Virginia W, 75-41
Sat 2/24/24 at Pitt L, 79-64
Tue 2/27/24 at Syracuse L, 84-71
Sat 3/2/24 Wake Forest W, 87-76
Tue 3/5/24 at Louisville W, 80-64
Sat 3/9/24 Notre Dame W, 82-76
Wed 3/13/24 Florida State ACC Tournament Capital One Arena Washington, D.C. L, 86-76
Tue 3/19/24 Richmond NIT Cassell Coliseum W, 74-58
Sat 3/23/24 at Ohio State NIT Value City Arena L, 81-73
Full 2023-24 Schedule Page
2022-23 Schedule and Results

The Schedule Rotation

Back in 2019, the ACC released its scheduling rotation for the next three seasons. 2021-22 was the final year of that matrix, but the league renewed it before last season. That means this year's scheduling layout is the same as the 2020-21 season, which had many games postponed or canceled due to COVID. (The Hokies had five games axed that season for a variety of reasons: vs. Boston College, vs. Florida State, at North Carolina, at Florida State and vs. Louisville.)

Virginia Tech's two rivals are Miami and Virginia, meaning they meet twice every season. Here's the rotation for 2023-24, listed in order of when Tech plays each team:

Home only: Clemson, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Duke
Away only: NC State, North Carolina, Pitt, Syracuse
Both home/away: Louisville, Wake Forest, Florida State, Miami, Virginia, Notre Dame

Quick Thoughts


The opener:


The conference did the Hokies a solid by giving them Louisville in the ACC opener at home. Mike Young has admitted before he isn't a huge fan of playing league games early in the season, specifically after opening the 2019-20 season (his first at the helm) on the road at Clemson. But if there was any team to face in the first conference game, Louisville is just about the best draw one could get. The Cardinals won four games last season (two in ACC play — Georgia Tech, Clemson) — in Kenny Payne's first year. Improvement is expected, but this is a program Tech beat by 17 on the road in the KFC Yum! Center last season. In theory, Dec. 3 is a good opportunity for the Hokies to start ACC play on the right foot, which they did in three of Young's first four seasons.

The last time Louisville ventured to Cassell Coliseum in 2022, Virginia Tech and Storm Murphy won by 32. (Jon Fleming)

January:

With five home games to three road trips to open 2024, Tech has a pretty nice January slate. It hurts that Miami plays in Blacksburg when the students are on winter break (Jan. 13), but if that's the worst part, Tech should be happy with that. (Hosting Duke or UVa in that timeframe, which has occurred in the past, is much more frustrating.) Playing the 'Canes and Virginia back-to-back won't be an easy task, but outside of the Big Monday game vs. Duke to close out the month, the other games — Florida State, Clemson, NC State, Boston College, Georgia Tech — are winnable. The fact that two of the team's three trips in the month are less than 200 miles away (Charlottesville, Raleigh) is a huge positive, too.

February:

The tradeoff for being home so much in January is immediately playing three of the first four February games on the road. Those trips aren't easy either, from Coral Gables to South Bend and then to Chapel Hill. Tech finishes the month with two other trips, too, at Pitt and Syracuse. It's almost the opposite from January with just two home games, both of which fall in the middle of the week. That's right, Virginia Tech doesn't have a home game on a Saturday in February. That stretch with Duke (Jan. 29), Miami (Feb. 3), Notre Dame (Feb. 10), North Carolina (Feb. 17) and Virginia (Feb. 19) is going to be tough. The good news is the Hokies have an open week in there, which should come at a much-needed time.

Final thoughts:

I imagine it's disappointing to fans that the only marquee home game on a weekend is against Miami on Jan. 13 at a time when the students won't be in town. In my opinion, Cassell Coliseum is often at its best on Saturdays. But the students will be up for the two Big Monday games — vs. Duke (Jan. 29), vs. UVa (Feb. 19). I also think the schedule sets up nicely at the beginning and end with a tough middle portion. Look at the first three and final five contests of the year: at Wake Forest, at Florida State, at Clemson; at Pitt, at Syracuse, Wake Forest, at Louisville, at Notre Dame. There's not a single team in that group that made the NCAA tournament in March, though the Tigers were good (23-11, 14-6 ACC). But those two stretches should paint a good picture as to how good Tech is this season.