Hokies win helps illuminate the progress of Buzz's program at Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech will earn back-to-back NCAA tournament bids after victory

BLACKSBURG, Va. –    Viewed as a singular event the Hokies win over Duke was an upset over the 5th-ranked team in the country. The win came over a fierce conference rival to be sure.
      But it was also a whole lot more.  For the Hokies it marks the fourth ranked team they have defeated this season, and the third top ten victory this year. It not only locked up an NCAA bid but probably moves them to a single digit seed in somebody's region.
       But the particulars of the win shouldn't overshadow the evolution of a college program since the Buzz Williams era began back in 2014.

   "I mean the biggest change obviously is we are winning.  People are coming to the games and we are getting more support. But on the inside nothing's really changed. Our coaching has been the same. We're just hard workers just trying to get better each and every day," Hokies guard Justin Bibbs says.

   "In the three times that we have played Duke since we have been here--in Blacksburg, with each passing game there is less and less a percentage of Duke fans in attendance. It speaks to the fact that there has been a groundswell of support for our group and how we are trying to do it," Hokies Coach Buzz Williams says.

"It's a huge thing for our program.  We are playing in games like this. We all chose here to play some of the best teams in the country and I think to be able to beat teams and show that we belong, and we're at the top of the conference is really big for us," Hokies guard Justin Robinson says.