Virginia Tech Women's Basketball: Do the Hokies still have a shot at the NCAA Tournament?

Originally posted on Virginia Tech Hokies on SI
By Phoebe Winters | Last updated Mar 6, 2025 4:41 PM ET

During Virginia Tech's final stretch of games they saw a lot of ACC opponents. The Hokies were still sitting on the bubble of receiving a March Madness bid, but surprising upsets from lower-seeded Stanford and Boston College put Tech in a more precarious situation. The Maroon and Orange narrowly beat Clemson on Sunday, March 2, to secure the eighth seed and a first-round bye in the ACC tournament.

Unfortunately, the Hokies devastating loss to the Yellow Jackets will hurt their chances significantly. However, the Maroon and Orange is still on the bubble as one of the first-four teams out alongside Arizona, Marquette, and Saint Joseph's. The Hokies are the highest ranked of the first-four-out teams but would need one of the last-four-in teams to slip up to have a shot at earning a bid.

Currently, the last-four-in teams include Washington, Princeton, Harvard, and Minnesota. The Golden Gophers dropped the first game of the Big 10 tournament by 14 points to Washington, and are now hanging onto eligibility by a thread.

The Ivy League Women's Basketball Tournament will take place on March 14. Princeton and Harvard are currently second and third seed in the Ivy League. Both teams also have their final regular season games on Saturday, March 8. If Harvard loses to Dartmouth, the lowest ranked team in the Ivy League, and performs badly in the Ivy League Tournament, the Hokies may be able to move into a more favorable position.

However, if another bubble team gets a significant win, such as Washington beating fifth seeded Michigan, or Saint Joseph's having a significant run in the Atlantic 10 tournament, the Maroon and Orange would be out of luck.

So, do the Hokies still have a chance at a March Madness bid? Likely, no. Looking back at the Virginia Tech's season, they don't have many stand-out games to point to in order to make a case for a bid. They lost key games at the end of the regular season to Stanford and Boston College. A strong ACC Tournament performance would have significantly improved their chances. The Maroon and Orange would need the other bubble teams, such as Washington, Princeton, Harvard, and Saint Joseph's to have a disastrous next few games to slip into the tournament.