Game 6: Michigan vs. Virginia Tech Preview

Michigan opens the Fort Myers Tip-Off against Virginia Tech tonight (6:00 p.m., FS1) at the Suncoast Credit Union Arena.

The Wolverines haven’t faced Hokie head coach Mike Young since the 2014 NCAA Tournament, when he was still the head coach at Wofford. Dusty May faced off against Young almost a year ago to the date, knocking off Virginia Tech by 34 points in the ESPN Events Invitational championship game in Orlando.

Young has established himself as a reliable high-floor, low-ceiling coach throughout his five years in Blacksburg. The Hokies have been roughly a .500 team in ACC games throughout his tenure, made the NCAA Tournament a couple of times, and generally finished around the middle third of the KenPom top 100.

It feels like that high floor might be buckling this year. Virginia Tech is off to a 3-2 start with losses to Penn State (by 22 points) and Jacksonville. In what’s becoming a world of haves and have-nots in the NIL and transfer portal era, the Hokies look increasingly like have-nots.

Four rotation players from last year’s roster opted to transfer to other high-major programs—Ole Miss, Miami, and two to Vanderbilt—and the incoming transfer class is heavy on developmental projects. One crucial newcomer, Hysier Miller, was dismissed in the preseason for his role in a point-shaving scandal at his last school.