Basketball scheduling has been a hot topic of discussion recently. Basketball schedules are not handled many years in advance like football schedules. In fact, they are generally only finalized a couple of months before the season begins.

Despite that, we know that Virginia Tech is likely to play 31 regular season games next season, and 27 of those spots are already reserved.

We know that Kansas State, St. Bonaventure, Eastern Michigan and The Citadel will visit Cassell Coliseum for non-conference games. We also know that the Hokies will play Temple in Washington, DC, as well as what will likely be a road game in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Seth Greenberg confirmed last week that Virginia Tech will play in the Preseason NIT, which will give the Hokies four guaranteed games. If Greenberg continues his past scheduling philosophy, he will probably play a made-for-TV game on a neutral court against a team such as Seton Hall or Mississippi State.

After you figure in the 16 conference games, there are just four spots remaining on the schedule. The Hokies will have the option to buy four more home games against bad teams, perhaps sign a one-and-one with a BCS conference team, maybe try to schedule another neutral site game, etc. It will be interesting to see how Seth Greenberg decides to schedule.

Eastern Michigan and The Citadel are both very bad teams who finished low in the RPI this past year, so it's doubtful that Greenberg will use all four of the remaining games on buy games against other low RPI programs. Counting two preseason NIT games, the Hokies already have 14 home games on their schedule already, so Greenberg has the flexibility to play a road game or another neutral site game.

We'll have a bigger, more comprehensive article on the 2011-12 basketball schedule next week.

There is good news and bad news for Virginia Tech basketball. We'll start with the bad news first. Jarell Eddie, who was expected to contend for the starting small forward position next season, may not be eligible to play during the fall semester next season. Eddie was charged with marijuana possession in February. He will be enrolled at Tech in the fall, but his playing status for that semester is up in the air.

Allan Chaney, who missed this past season because of an infection in his heart, may not be able to play either. Or, he might be able to play for the first time since transferring from Florida. Seth Greenberg told the Roanoke Times earlier this week that Chaney's status still isn't clear. He could possibly need surgery in May to have a defibrillator installed.

The good news is that Dorenzo Hudson, J.T. Thompson and Cadarian Raines will be back. Greenberg declared Raines to be "pain free", and noted on Tech Talk Live in late February that Cadarian Raines was back with the team. Dorenzo Hudson is also now able to do certain activities with the team. He and his cousin, J.T. Thompson, were redshirted this past season because of injuries, and will be r-seniors next season.

A final piece of good news is that Victor Davila's shoulder injury turned out to simply be a strained rotator cuff. There were early concerns that Davila may have to have surgery to repair a torn labrum, but that turned out to not be the case.

With those players returning next season, here is how Tech's roster is setting up.

There is still plenty of talent on the team, and the Hokies will be more than capable of competing for a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Hopefully they will be able to stay healthy this year.

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