After an 88-54 season-opening win over Coppin State, Virginia Tech men's basketball hosts Mercer, looking to improve to 2-0 in its eighth season under head coach Mike Young. Ahead of tonight's clash in Cassell Coliseum, here's how you can tune in:

How to Watch

• Date: Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026
• Time: 7 p.m. ET
• TV: ACC Network Extra
• TV Voices: Jason Patterson (play-by-play), Mack McCarthy (analyst)
• Radio: Virginia Tech Sports Network
• Radio Voices: Jake Lyman (play-by-play)
• Live Stats: stats.hokiesports.com

Lyman is conducting play-by-play on a solo basis for VTSN as Evan Hughes is in Dallas, Texas, for Virginia Tech football's game against SMU Nov. 6.

Notes

Mercer (1-0) won its first game of the season via a 90-53 blowout over Reinhard. Shane Cherry, Derek Goodman, and KJ Lamonte totaled 21, 18, and 14 points for the Bears.

Virginia Tech (1-0) won its own season opener, thumping Coppin State 88-54 and forcing 24 Coppin State turnovers. Hokies guard Ben Hammond finished with 20 points, eight assists, and seven steals — one steal shy of the program's single-game record. Hammond's 20/8/7 stat line was the first on opening night since Davidson's Stephen Curry in 2008.

Hammond was also the first Hokie since Jamon Gordon in the 2007 NCAA Tournament to log seven steals in a single game.

Oklahoma State transfer Jaylen Curry chipped in 19 points, though he also committed six turnovers, while senior forward Amani Hansberry, a Second-Team Preseason All-ACC selection, chipped in 16 points, four assists and a game-high nine boards.

Fellow returnee Tyler Johnson logged the fourth-most minutes (22) in a spark plug role off the bench, contributing 13 points and seven assists.

Virginia Tech ran with a starting lineup of Curry, Isaiah Elohim (Florida Atlantic), Hammond, Hansberry and Miles Heide (San Diego State). Heide scored five points and hauled in five boards, though he committed four turnovers and was 1-of-4 from the free-throw line.

Virginia Tech's 34-point win was its biggest margin of victory since Nov. 12, 2025, against Saint Joseph's and the 11th time it's won by that many under Young. As a team, the Hokies went 13-of-28 (46.4%) from deep, the fifth time since the start of the 2025-26 season they've hit at or above that clip from 3-point range.

With the victory, Young's record with the Hokies improved to 125-98, and Virginia Tech is 15-3 in its last 18 games in Cassell Coliseu.m.

Tech's only played Mercer once, doing so in the 1973-74 season at Cassell Coliseum — a matchup the Hokies won 75-65.