Tag: Jay Bilas

Where does Jay Bilas think Duke ranks among the Sweet 16 teams?

The former Blue Devil ranked the 16 teams left in the men’s tournament, but how does he think Duke stacks up against Houston? Or the field?

Jay Bilas might be a former Blue Devil, but he doesn’t let his alma mater drastically change what he expects in March.

In his bracket at the start of the tournament, he had Duke losing to Wisconsin in the second round. On Wednesday of this week, he ranked the Sweet 16 teams and slotted Duke in as the eighth-best team left on the board.

Bilas praised the second-round win over James Madison, calling it Duke’s best game of the season after the Blue Devils shot 52% from the floor and 50% from three.

The Blue Devils play Houston on Friday for a spot in the Elite Eight, and while Bilas had the Cougars third in his power rankings, he acknowledged Duke might have more skill on paper.

“The game will hinge upon Duke’s physical and mental toughness, and its ability to absorb the physical challenge presented by Houston,” Bilas wrote. “Can Duke operate under that kind of physical stress?”

Bilas ranked Connecticut, his pre-tournament pick and the defending national champions, as the best team left. Purdue was second, followed by the Cougars. Arizona snuck in at fourth over North Carolina despite the Tar Heels being the No. 1 seed in their region.

Here’s who Jay Bilas has in his annual ESPN Final Four picks for 2024 men’s March Madness

Jay Bilas’s picks for the 2024 NCAA men’s basketball tournament are here.

Death, taxes, and following who Jay Bilas picks in the men’s NCAA tournament.

That’s life in a nutshell. But that’s why the ESPN personality is a must-follow when it comes to March Madness. For years, he’s picked every single game in the bracket to help everyone from casuals (like me) to experts to choose the winners of each game.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

This year was no different. In his 2024 picks of every game, he eventually landed with a Final Four that is almost complete chalk: He’s got No. 1 UConn vs. No. 2 Arizona in one matchup and two No. 1s in Houston and Purdue, with UConn repeating in the final with a win. Here’s his take:

 I get it — what are the chances we get two No. 1 seeds against each other for the title? In a year when we are expecting chaos, maybe UConn taking on Purdue is chaos. I like UConn to cut the nets down again.

Be sure to check out our ranking of every men’s March Madness mascot in 2024!

A North Carolina fan hilariously held up a ‘Where’s Dook?’ sign behind Jay Bilas during ESPN broadcast

North Carolina fans are not going to miss a chance to troll Duke.

The North Carolina-Duke basketball rivalry burns with an eternal flame of pettiness, as evident by this intrepid Tarheels fan during ESPN’s broadcast of the 2024 ACC men’s tournament.

The fan in question held up a sign on their phone that read “Where’s Dook?” and wore a sweatshirt showing the image of Duke’s Kyle Filipowski seemingly tripping North Carolina’s Harrison Ingram in a game last week.

IT’S BRACKET MADNESS: Enter USA TODAY’s NCAA tournament bracket contest for a chance at $1 million prize.

The “Where’s Dook” slogan goes back to a sign held up by former UNC basketball player Makhtar N’Diaye, who was in the stands for the 2009 national championship game between North Carolina and Michigan State, which the Tarheels won.

Of course, the sign asks where archrival Duke is if North Carolina advances in any basketball setting where Duke hasn’t.

The reason for the trolling? Duke was eliminated in the ACC tournament and UNC will play NC State for the conference title on Saturday night.

The fan did the UNC trolling behind Jay Bilas of all people, the former Duke basketball standout and assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski.

As you can imagine, this North Carolina fan will have plenty of support from fellow Tarheels.

Feature image courtesy of ESPN.

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‘College GameDay’ expert Jay Bilas weighs in on the UNC vs. Duke X-factors.

College GameDay expert Jay Bilas weighs in on the UNC Basketball vs. Duke X-factors.

We are just moments away from college basketball’s biggest rivalry, UNC vs. Duke, tipping off.

To nobody’s surprise, the event brought high ticket prices and welcomed ESPNs’ “College GameDay” to Chapel Hill. The crew is in town, giving predictions on UNC tournament hopes while signs are displayed behind them, and Tar Heel chants echo.

Before the crew gave their picks on live TV, I had the opportunity to speak with [autotag]Jay Bilas[/autotag], and he gave me his key players to watch in the rivalry showdown.

Bilas opened up with Duke’s X-factor first and whom he believes UNC will need to stop.

“For Duke Derek Lively II,” Bilas said. “He had his best game overall of the season against North Carolina. He had a double-figure rebounding game (14) and controlled the paint, blocking eight shots and changing a fair amount of others. So I think he is a wildcard and an X-factor if North Carolina can get into his body a little better instead of trying to avoid getting your shot block.

Bilas then offered who he believed were the X-factors for UNC.

“There are two guys, Pete Nance, I think, has been playing at a higher level over his last several games. I don’t know how much these cookies have to do with it, but keep eating them and Leaky Black. Duke helped off of certain players in the last game between Duke and North Carolina. When you have those kinds of open shots, you gotta make some of them, and you know Leaky Black has proven to be a good corner shooter.”

The first meeting saw Duke take it 63-57. However, with home-court advantage and backs against the wall, the Tar Heels need to come out with better energy and secure a big win late in the season.

Follow us @TarHeelsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of North Carolina Tar Heels news, notes and opinions.

Jay Bilas names 11 college basketball teams as championship contenders

Texas was mentioned among Bilas’ list of national title hopefuls.

ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas named 11 teams he sees as legitimate national championship contenders.

Texas was mentioned among Bilas’ list of national title hopefuls. The Longhorns currently sit ranked at No. 10 in the nation at 17-3, tied on top of the Big 12 Conference standings.

There are plenty of reasons why Texas is a trendy pick to play well in March.

Texas is an experienced group with lots of college basketball under its belt. The core of Marcus Carr, Timmy Allen and Tyrese Hunter are no strangers to the big stage.

Depth is an area where Texas holds an advantage over many teams in the nation. The Longhorns bench has been critical in their success thus far, averaging over 25 points per game in Big 12 play.

Playing elite competition is something Texas is used to while keeping up with the gauntlet of the Big 12 schedule. Every night in the league is a dogfight on the court.

Here is a complete look at the 11 programs Bilas believes can make a championship run in the NCAA Tournament.

ESPN’s Jay Bilas lists Breslin Center in his ‘top 5 venues in college basketball’ rankings

The Breslin Center is one of the top five college basketball venues in the eyes of ESPN analyst Jay Bilas

The Breslin Center is one of the top five college basketball venues in the eyes of ESPN analyst Jay Bilas.

Bilas released his top five college basketball venues list this week, and the Spartans’ home arena cracked his rankings. He has the Breslin Center as the No. 4 venue in all of college basketball.

Other arenas that made his rankings included Assembly Hall (No. 5), Rupp Arena (No. 3), Cameron Indoor Stadium (tied for No. 1) and Allen Fieldhouse (tied for No. 1).

Watch the complete video and what he had to say about the Breslin Center below:

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan state news, notes, and opinion. You can also follow Robert Bondy on Twitter @RobertBondy5.

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Along with the two-year-old G League …

Along with the two-year-old G League Ignite, the NBA-sponsored team that signs high school graduates and tutors them for one year before they become eligible for the draft, Overtime has shown it can be a “disruptor” to the NCAA, said Jay Bilas, the ESPN college basketball analyst. “I wouldn’t call them any sort of existential threat to the NCAA system because they’re not going to be taking all of the players,” Bilas said. “But they’ll be taking some of the top players, and that is certainly going to impact the college game.” Because Overtime has yet to sell its live media rights for game broadcasts, wanting to first build its social following, it registers most with its young fans. On TikTok, Overtime’s general account has 19 million followers and Overtime Elite’s account surpassed 1 million in May — more than 25 NBA teams.

The entire basketball world paid homage to Coach K ahead of his final home game at Duke

Coach K has impacted basketball in an immeasurable way.

Mike Krzyzewski is so influential in basketball as a sport. It’s not limited to just one section.

It isn’t just the players he’s coached through the years — though, they’re showing up to his final game in droves. It’s not just the NBA players he’s coached through Team USA or the ones that have watched him from afar through the years. It’s not even just the coaches he’s gone up against.

It’s all of them. All of them combined.

He’s touched so many people through this sport of basketball that we all love. And for his final game, so many of them paid tribute to him in one way or another.

Here’s a look at some of the kind words from folks that have shown up through social media.

Jay Bilas shared a wholesome recruiting memory about early Coach K at Duke

It doesn’t get more personal than a letter to mom.

Enjoy a legendary career like Mike Krzyzewski, and you’re bound to have made more than a few friends along the way. Most will probably remember Krzyzewski for turning Duke into a national powerhouse practically synonymous with men’s college basketball. But coach 42 years, and you’re going to have a lot more of an impact than wins on the court. You’re going to touch many lives of gifted young men and give them a mentor and friend for life.

With Krzyzewski’s Duke home finale this Saturday, many will undoubtedly take to social media to share their love for the coach, and the man. One of his first players from one of his first recruiting classes in 1982 — ESPN’s Jay Bilas — had a touching sentiment he couldn’t help but relay to the masses:

The personalized recruiting letter a 33-year-old Coach K sent to Bilas’ mother.

That version of Coach K isn’t something we see as often now that Duke is regularly on a national stage. There’s only so much you can say about a story and person everyone already understands inside and out. But if there’s any landmark item that demonstrates why Krzyzewski became a legend, it’s this cursive, handwritten missive sent to a player’s mom.

To some, it’s just basketball. To Coach K, it was always basketball and people.

Here’s what the experts are saying about LSU basketball in the latest bracketology and metrics

Check out where the Tigers stand in all the latest rankings and NCAA Tournament predictions.

It was a tough end of January and start of February for this Tigers basketball team. Following a 15-1 start to the season, LSU dropped six of its next seven games.

Things were starting to look shaky, but the Tigers are getting back on track after three-straight wins. The most recent came in dominating fashion at home in Baton Rouge against a moribund Georgia Bulldogs team by 19 points on Wednesday night.

LSU looks ahead to another tune-up game in its near future against South Carolina, though that one will be away from the confines of the Pete Maravich Assembly Center. Following that one is a crucial road game against the Kentucky Wildcats, who the Tigers beat at home on Jan. 4.

With things starting to go better for coach Will Wade’s squad, here’s what the experts are saying about this team’s NCAA Tournament candidacy and standing within college basketball.