2018–19 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team

2018–19 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball
2018–19 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball
Charleston Classic champions
NCAA tournament, Sweet Sixteen
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
AP	No. 16
Record	26–9 (12–6 ACC)
Head coach	Buzz Williams (5th season);
Assistant coaches	Jamie McNeilly; Christian Webster; Devin Johnson;
Home arena	Cassell Coliseum
	Seasons ← 2017–18 2019–20 →

2018–19 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	Conf				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 Virginia	16	–	2	.889	35	–	3	.921
No. 3 North Carolina	16	–	2	.889	29	–	7	.806
No. 1 Duke †	14	–	4	.778	32	–	6	.842
No. 10 Florida State	13	–	5	.722	29	–	8	.784
No. 16 Virginia Tech	12	–	6	.667	26	–	9	.743
Syracuse	10	–	8	.556	20	–	14	.588
Louisville	10	–	8	.556	20	–	14	.588
NC State	9	–	9	.500	24	–	12	.667
Clemson	9	–	9	.500	20	–	14	.588
Georgia Tech	6	–	12	.333	14	–	18	.438
Boston College	5	–	13	.278	14	–	17	.452
Miami (FL)	5	–	13	.278	14	–	18	.438
Wake Forest	4	–	14	.222	11	–	20	.355
Pittsburgh	3	–	15	.167	14	–	19	.424
Notre Dame	3	–	15	.167	14	–	19	.424

† 2019 ACC tournament winner Rankings from AP poll

The 2018–19 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2018–19 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Hokies were led by fifth-year head coach Buzz Williams and played their home games at Cassell Coliseum in Blacksburg, Virginia, as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They finished the 2018–19 season 26–9, 12–6 in ACC play to finish in fifth place. They defeated Miami (FL) in the second round of the ACC tournament before losing to Florida State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Saint Louis and Liberty to advance to the sweet sixteen for the first time since 1965 where they lost to ACC member Duke.

On April 3, Williams left Virginia Tech to take the Texas A&M head coaching job.^[1] The Hokies hired Wofford head coach Mike Young as his replacement on April 7.^[2]

Previous season

The Hokies finished the 2017–18 season 21–12, 10–8 in ACC play to finish in seventh place. They lost in the second round of the ACC tournament to Notre Dame. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament where they lost in the first round to Alabama.

Offseason

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Weight	Year	Hometown	Reason for departure
Tyrie Jackson	1	G	6'1"	205	Sophomore	Tifton, GA	Transferred to NW Florida State College
Khadim Sy	2	F/C	6'10"	240	Sophomore	Dakar, Senegal	Transferred to Daytona State College
Justin Bibbs	10	G	6'5"	220	Senior	Dayton, OH	Graduated
Devin Wilson	11	G	6'4"	195	RS Senior	McKees Rocks, PA	Graduated
Nick Fullard	21	F	6'10"	235	Senior	La Plata, MD	Graduated
Justin Ammerman	22	G	6'3"	185	Junior	West Chester, PA	Left team

2018 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Isaiah Wilkins SF	Wake Forest, NC	Mount Tabor High School	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Jul 30, 2018
Isaiah Wilkins SF	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: ESPN: N/A
Landers Nolley II #23 SF	Fairburn, GA	Langston Hughes High School	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Oct 15, 2017
Landers Nolley II #23 SF	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Jon Kabongo #28 PG	Toronto, ON	Putnam Science Academy	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Oct 22, 2017
Jon Kabongo #28 PG	Star ratings: Scout: Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN:
Tyrece Radford PG	Baton Rouge, LA	McKinley High School	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)
Tyrece Radford PG	Star ratings: Rivals: N/A 247Sports: N/A
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: NA Rivals: NA 247Sports: 23 ESPN: 19
Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight. In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale. Sources: "Virginia Tech Commit List for 2018". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 5, 2017. "ESPN". ESPN.com. Retrieved October 5, 2017. "2018 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. Retrieved October 5, 2017.

Roster

2018–19 Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team

Players

Coaches

Pos.	#	Name	Height	Weight	Year	Previous school	Hometown
G	1	Isaiah Wilikins	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Mount Tabor	Winston-Salem, North Carolina
G	3	Wabissa Bede	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	So	Cushing Academy	North Andover, Massachusetts
G	4	Nickeil Alexander-Walker	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	So	Hamilton Heights Christian Academy	Toronto, Ontario
G	5	Justin Robinson	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Sr	St. James School (MD)	Manassas, Virginia
G	10	Jonathan Kabongo	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	Thornlea Secondary	Toronto, Ontario
G	11	Brendan Palmer (W)	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	Fr	Forsyth Country Day	Lewisville, North Carolina
G	13	Ahmed Hill	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	RS Sr	Aquinas	Augusta, Georgia
G	14	P. J. Horne	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	So	Tift County	Tifton, Georgia
G/F	15	Chris Clarke	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Sr	Cape Henry	Virginia Beach, Virginia
G/F	21	Landers Nolley II	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Fr	Langston Hughes	Fairburn, Georgia
G	23	Tyrece Radford	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Fr	McKinley	Baton Rouge, Louisiana
F	24	Kerry Blackshear Jr.	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	RS Jr	Maynard Evans	Orlando, Florida
G/F	42	Ty Outlaw	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	GS	Person/Lee College	Roxboro, North Carolina

Head coach

Buzz Williams (Oklahoma City)

Assistant coach(es)

Jamie McNeilly (New Orleans)
Christian Webster (Harvard)
Devin Johnson (New Orleans)

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
(W) Walk-on

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

Schedule and results

Date time, TV	Rank^#	Opponent^#	Result	Record	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Site (attendance) city, state
Exhibition
Nov 4, 2018* 3:00 pm	No. 15	at Liberty Hurricane Relief Exhibition	W 86–70^[3]	–	20 – Robinson	7 – Tied	9 – Robinson	Vines Center (4,210) Lynchburg, VA
Non-conference regular season
Nov 9, 2018* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra	No. 15	Gardner–Webb	W 87–59	1–0	21 – Tied	6 – Tied	8 – Robinson	Cassell Coliseum (7,736) Blacksburg, VA
Nov 15, 2018* 11:30 am, ESPN2	No. 16	vs. Ball State Charleston Classic Quarterfinals	W 73–64	2–0	21 – Alexander-Walker	7 – Blackshear	6 – Robinson	TD Arena (2,648) Charleston, SC
Nov 16, 2018* 11:00 am, ESPN2	No. 16	vs. Northeastern Charleston Classic Semifinals	W 88–60	3–0	20 – Alexander-Walker	7 – Outlaw	7 – Alexander-Walker	TD Arena (2,752) Charleston, SC
Nov 18, 2018* 8:30 pm, ESPN2	No. 16	vs. No. 23 Purdue Charleston Classic championship	W 89–83	4–0	25 – Alexander-Walker	7 – Alexander-Walker	6 – Robinson	TD Arena (3,985) Charleston, SC
Nov 24, 2018* 1:00 pm, ACCN Extra	No. 13	Saint Francis (PA)	W 75–37	5–0	19 – Hill	8 – Wilkins	7 – Robinson	Cassell Coliseum (7,474) Blacksburg, VA
Nov 27, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 13	at Penn State ACC–Big Ten Challenge	L 62–63	5–1	19 – Robinson	9 – Blackshear	3 – Tied	Bryce Jordan Center (8,373) University Park, PA
Dec 1, 2018* 1:00 pm, ACCN Extra	No. 13	Central Connecticut	W 94–40	6–1	24 – Hill	6 – Outlaw	13 – Robinson	Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA
Dec 5, 2018* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra	No. 15	VMI	W 89–68	7–1	18 – Robinson	11 – Outlaw	5 – Robinson	Cassell Coliseum (7,748) Blacksburg, VA
Dec 9, 2018* 1:00 pm, ACCN Extra	No. 15	South Carolina State	W 81–44	8–1	19 – Alexander-Walker	13 – Blackshear	6 – Robinson	Cassell Coliseum (5,305) Blacksburg, VA
Dec 15, 2018* 7:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 13	vs. Washington Boardwalk Classic	W 73–61	9–1	24 – Alexander-Walker	6 – Tied	3 – Tied	Boardwalk Hall (5,456) Atlantic City, NJ
Dec 19, 2018* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra	No. 13	North Carolina A&T	W 82–60	10–1	20 – Alexander-Walker	9 – Blackshear	6 – Robinson	Cassell Coliseum (6,681) Blacksburg, VA
Dec 28, 2018* 7:00 pm, ACCN Extra	No. 10	Maryland Eastern Shore	W 85–40	11–1	20 – Hill	7 – Bede	6 – Tied	Cassell Coliseum (7,632) Blacksburg, VA
ACC regular season
Jan 1, 2019 1:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 10	Notre Dame	W 81–66	12–1 (1–0)	21 – Blackshear	7 – Blackshear	8 – Robinson	Cassell Coliseum (8,008) Blacksburg, VA
Jan 5, 2019 12:00 pm, ACCRSN	No. 10	Boston College	W 77–66	13–1 (2–0)	25 – Alexander-Walker	8 – Robinson	5 – Robinson	Cassell Coliseum (7,009) Blacksburg, VA
Jan 9, 2019 7:00 pm, ACCRSN	No. 9	at Georgia Tech	W 52–49	14–1 (3–0)	15 – Hill	10 – Blackshear	6 – Alexander-Walker	McCamish Pavilion (6,166) Atlanta, GA
Jan 15, 2019 8:00 pm, Raycom	No. 9	at No. 4 Virginia Rivalry	L 59–81	14–2 (3–1)	19 – Alexander-Walker	4 – Alexander-Walker	3 – Alexander-Walker	John Paul Jones Arena (14,623) Charlottesville, VA
Jan 19, 2019 4:00 pm, ACCRSN	No. 9	Wake Forest	W 87–71	15–2 (4–1)	24 – Alexander-Walker	7 – Alexander-Walker	5 – Bede	Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA
Jan 21, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 10	at No. 11 North Carolina	L 82–103	15–3 (4–2)	20 – Hill	17 – Blackshear	6 – Robinson	Dean Smith Center (21,148) Chapel Hill, NC
Jan 26, 2019 8:00 pm, ESPN	No. 10	Syracuse	W 78–56	16–3 (5–2)	35 – Robinson	7 – Outlaw	8 – 2 tied	Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA
Jan 30, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 12	at Miami (FL)	W 82–70	17–3 (6–2)	25 – Alexander-Walker	9 – Blackshear Jr.	5 – Alexander-Walker	Watsco Center (6,860) Coral Gables, FL
Feb 2, 2019 12:00 pm, Raycom	No. 12	at No. 23 NC State	W 47–24	18–3 (7–2)	13 – Blackshear Jr.	13 – Blackshear Jr.	3 – 2 tied	PNC Arena (19,500) Raleigh, NC
Feb 4, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 11	No. 16 Louisville	L 64–72	18–4 (7–3)	21 – Blackshear Jr.	7 – Outlaw	5 – Bede	Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA
Feb 9, 2019 12:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 11	at Clemson	L 51–59	18–5 (7–4)	17 – Blackshear Jr.	8 – Outlaw	3 – 2 Tied	Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000) Clemson, SC
Feb 13, 2019 8:00 pm, Raycom	No. 22	Georgia Tech	W 76–68	19–5 (8–4)	20 – Outlaw	6 – Tied	8 – Blackshear Jr.	Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA
Feb 16, 2019 12:00 pm, ACCRSN	No. 22	at Pittsburgh	W 70–64	20–5 (9–4)	29 – Blackshear Jr.	9 – 2 Tied	7 – Bede	Petersen Events Center (10,289) Pittsburgh, PA
Feb 18, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 20	No. 3 Virginia Rivalry	L 58–64	20–6 (9–5)	23 – Blackshear Jr.	13 – Blackshear Jr.	4 – Alexander-Walker	Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA
Feb 23, 2019 4:00 pm, ESPN	No. 20	at Notre Dame	W 67–59	21–6 (10–5)	22 – Blackshear Jr.	14 – Blackshear Jr.	3 – Tied	Edmund P. Joyce Center (8,787) South Bend, IN
Feb 26, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN	No. 20	No. 3 Duke	W 77–72	22–6 (11–5)	23 – Blackshear Jr.	10 – Blackshear Jr.	6 – Alexander-Walker	Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA
Mar 5, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPNU	No. 15	at No. 14 Florida State	L 64–73 ^OT	22–7 (11–6)	19 – Alexander-Walker	9 – Hill	4 – Blackshear Jr.	Donald L. Tucker Center (10,611) Tallahassee, FL
Mar 8, 2019 7:00 pm, ESPN2	No. 15	Miami (FL)	W 84–70	23–7 (12–6)	21 – Alexander-Walker	10 – Alexander-Walker	8 – Alexander-Walker	Cassell Coliseum (9,275) Blacksburg, VA
ACC Tournament
Mar 13, 2019 2:30 pm, ESPN	(5) No. 16	vs. (12) Miami Second Round	W 71–56	24–7	19 – Blackshear Jr.	10 – Blackshear Jr.	6 – Alexander-Walker	Spectrum Center (19,691) Charlotte, NC
Mar 14, 2019 2:30 pm, ESPN	(5) No. 16	vs. (4) No. 12 Florida State Quarterfinals	L 63–65 ^OT	24–8	21 – Alexander-Walker	9 – Blackshear Jr.	4 – Alexander-Walker	Spectrum Center (19,691) Charlotte, NC
NCAA tournament
Mar 22, 2019* 9:57 pm, truTV	(4 E) No. 16	vs. (13 E) Saint Louis First Round	W 66–52	25–8	20 – Alexander-Walker	7 – Outlaw	2 – Tied	SAP Center (12,824) San Jose, CA
Mar 24, 2019* 7:10 pm, TBS	(4 E) No. 16	vs. (12 E) Liberty Second Round	W 67–58	26–8	19 – Blackshear Jr.	11 – Outlaw	6 – Alexander-Walker	SAP Center (14,802) San Jose, CA
Mar 29, 2019* 9:45 pm, CBS	(4 E) No. 16	vs. (1 E) No. 1 Duke Sweet Sixteen	L 73–75	26–9	18 – Blackshear Jr.	16 – Blackshear Jr.	5 – Blackshear Jr.	Capital One Arena (20,006) Washington, D.C.
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. E=East. All times are in Eastern Time.

Source^[4]

Player statistics

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game


No.	Player	GP	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
1	Isaiah Wilkins	14	14.4	47.2	46.4	73.7	2.2	0.9	0.4	0.1	5.5
3	Wabissa Bede	15	19.7	44.7	43.3	0.0	2.1	2.1	0.8	0.0	3.7
4	Nickeil Alexander-Walker	14	32.5	54.6	42.4	79.1	4.1	3.6	2.2	0.6	17.8
5	Justin Robinson	15	32.4	44.7	36.7	80.0	3.8	5.8	1.7	0.1	13.1
10	Jonathan Kabongo	8	5.9	33.3	25.0	33.3	0.5	0.4	0.1	0.0	1.8
11	Brendan Palmer	3	0.7	N/A	N/A	N/A	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0
13	Ahmed Hill	15	33.1	46.3	44.8	93.3	3.5	1.7	0.9	0.1	12.7
14	P.J. Horne	15	16.9	65.4	0.0	80.0	3.3	0.6	0.3	0.5	5.1
24	Kerry Blackshear Jr.	15	25.7	54.2	34.8	66.2	6.2	1.7	0.5	0.9	14.1
42	Ty Outlaw	15	25.1	46.7	49.3	33.3	5.1	1.1	0.4	0.5	7.9

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	Final
AP	15	16	13	13	15	13	13	10	10	9	9	10	12	11	22	20	20	15	16	Not released
Coaches	17	17^	14	12	14	13	13	10	10	7	7	8	11	10	16	18	19	16	15	14

^Coaches did not release a Week 2 poll.

References

^ Borzello, Jeff (April 3, 2019). "Texas A&M hires Va. Tech's Williams as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.
^ Borzello, Jeff (April 7, 2019). "Va. Tech hires Wofford's Young as new coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2019.
^ "Hokies defeat Liberty, 86-70, in exhibition game - Virginia Tech". Virginia Tech.
^ "hokiesports.com :: Men's Basketball Schedule". www.hokiesports.com. Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved January 24, 2019.

[Buzz-1] Borzello, Jeff (April 3, 2019). "Texas A&M hires Va. Tech's Williams as coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 3, 2019.

[Young-2] Borzello, Jeff (April 7, 2019). "Va. Tech hires Wofford's Young as new coach". ESPN.com. Retrieved April 8, 2019.

[3] "Hokies defeat Liberty, 86-70, in exhibition game - Virginia Tech". Virginia Tech.

[4] "hokiesports.com :: Men's Basketball Schedule". www.hokiesports.com. Virginia Tech Athletics. Retrieved January 24, 2019.

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[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball
Venues	War Memorial Gymnasium (1926–1961) Cassell Coliseum (1962–present)
Rivalries	Virginia
Culture & lore	HokieBird "Tech Triumph"
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1908–09 1909–10 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25