Latest news with #Bilas
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jay Bilas Makes Unexpected Admission About Florida
The Florida Gators are the undisputed national champions in college basketball, but not everyone predicted their tremendous season. ESPN's Jay Bilas sat down with On3's Pete Nakos to discuss top offseason hires and college basketball as a whole. Bilas even revealed that he did not consider Florida a Final Four team or national title contender at the start of 2024. Advertisement Florida entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 1 seed after beating the Tennessee Volunteers in the SEC Tournament. The Gators were the top seed in the West Region. Florida head coach Todd Golden led his team to a national title after beating the Houston Cougars 65-63. Florida Gators head coach Todd Golden. © Thomas Bender/Sarasota Herald-Tribune / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images 'I don't know if I could name five for you right now,' Bilas said. 'I think Duke will be really good, Houston. There are going to be so many teams that have new pieces that we're going to have to see a little bit before we can make some of those pronouncements. Because I don't remember whether I thought Florida would be there. I thought Alabama would be there. But I don't remember at the beginning of the year, thinking, 'Man, Florida is going to be the best team.' It's even more difficult now.' Advertisement Florida will have to rebuild its roster following its national title run. The Gators are losing Walter Clayton Jr., Denzel Aberdeen, Alijah Martin and Will Richard. Golden went on a podcast and discussed how "tough" it was to lose Aberdeen to the portal. However, the Gators have added talent through the portal, bringing on Xaivian Lee from Princeton, Boogie Fland from the Arkansas Razorbacks and AJ Brown from Ohio. Florida's 2025 class is highlighted by four-star shooting guards CJ Ingram and Alex Lloyd. Fland is the latest addition to Florida's transfer class. He played for John Calipari at Arkansas and averaged 13.5 points per game last season. Florida hosted Fland for a visit recently, and he committed on Monday. Related: Florida's Will Richard Invited to NBA G League Elite Camp
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Jay Bilas Throws Cold Water on Trump's College Sports Plan
Donald Trump has vowed to make college sports a priority, but at least one prominent analyst isn't buying it. ESPN's Jay Bilas raised eyebrows this week with his pointed critique of the former president's newly proposed college athletics commission. Speaking to On3's Pete Nakos, Bilas didn't mince words. Advertisement 'We've had the Knight Commission, we had the Rice Commission,' he said. 'Anything with commission on it is probably not going to accomplish anything.' That might sound harsh, but Bilas' skepticism comes from experience. Both the Knight and Rice Commissions were high-profile attempts to reform college sports, particularly around amateurism and athlete compensation. Neither produced any significant policy changes, despite years of work and well-funded research. ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas.© Adam Cairns / USA TODAY NETWORK Bilas points to the failures of the Knight and Rice Commissions as warning signs The Knight Commission, created in 1989, was intended to bring academic reform and financial oversight to college athletics. The Rice Commission, launched in 2018 after the FBI's college basketball probe, was supposed to clean up the sport's reputation. But both failed to enact enforceable change — or keep up with the rapidly shifting landscape now dominated by NIL and the transfer portal. Advertisement Trump's new proposal to form a commission that would 'bring fairness and sanity' back to college athletics has already stirred political and media buzz. But Bilas' blunt assessment undercuts any early optimism. And he's not alone. Many critics believe college sports' problems won't be solved by more panels and paperwork — especially from figures with little history in the space. With the NCAA facing lawsuits, conference realignment chaos, and a player empowerment revolution, another commission may not be what's needed. Jay Bilas isn't rejecting reform. He's just warning that we've seen this playbook before — and it didn't work then either. Advertisement Related: Emmanuel Acho Doesn't Hold Back About Angel Reese's Reaction to Caitlin Clark Related: Russell Wilson and Ciara Share Family Update in New York
USA Today
08-04-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
Jay Bilas inexplicably blamed Duke's Final Four collapse on a lack of close ACC games
Jay Bilas inexplicably blamed Duke's Final Four collapse on a lack of close ACC games Duke's soul-crushing 2025 Final Four loss on Saturday in San Antonio stands as one of the most shocking collapses in college basketball history. Trying to blame one thing feels wrong, as it was just a monumental, cumulative failure for the team as much as it was a stellar showing for Houston when all hope seemed lost. Well, ESPN analyst and former Duke player and assistant Jay Bilas has found a culprit for the defeat, and it's ... the ACC. Wait... what? Ahead of Monday night's national title game between Houston and Florida, Bilas pointed a finger at the lack of competitive games in conference play as a reason for Duke's unexpected blown lead. "I thought the biggest factor in the game was the fact that Duke was inexperienced in close games," Bilas said during ESPN pregame coverage. "And that's where I felt the ACC really let 'em down. Everybody else in this Final Four had played games that came down to the wire day after day and game after game." While it can be factually true that Duke didn't play in a lot of close conference games this past season, the whole "let them down" concept is really ludicrous. It's not and never will be the conference's responsibility to serve as a sharpening board for a legacy program, and Bilas is ... y'know ... just a bit biased and probably doesn't want to fully blame his alma mater directly for the loss. Duke lost Saturday's game to Houston because the entire operation collapsed in crunch time. For a team as absurdly talented as Duke is, you should be able to maintain your composure with a lead even if you haven't been asked to do it a lot. Sure, experience helps, but the lack of it isn't why you lost. This might work for Bilas, but it probably won't work for most anybody else.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Jay Bilas Correctly Predicted Final Four of NCAA Tournament
Just a couple of weeks ago, ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas was feeling the wrath of social media users due to his NCAA Tournament prediction. Although getting a perfect bracket is less likely than being struck by lightning or winning the lottery, fans were perplexed at Bilas' Final Four teams. He forecasted that all four No. 1 seeds, consisting of Auburn, Duke, Florida and Houston would be the final teams standing. Advertisement In theory, the top seeds have the easiest path to the championship due to seeding, but the 2008 season was the only time in tournament history where all top seeds made it. So, when Bilas fired off this prediction, fans were irate at his lack of creativity and at the fact that he was so confident in something that happened only once before. Well, for all the fans who were clutching their pearls about his prediction, they had to eat a slice of humble pie on Sunday. Following Florida's 84-79 win over Texas Tech, and Duke's 85-65 win over Alabama and Houston's 69-50 win over Tennessee, all that was left was for Auburn to take down Michigan State. It was a task that the Tigers were able to pull off Sunday evening, as they ended up winning 70-64. ESPN commentator Jay Bilas.© Matt Stone/Courier Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images On top of being correct, Bilas will have some time to take a victory lap. The Final Four will take place this upcoming Saturday as the teams will head to San Antonio, Texas, with the games set to be played at the Alamodome. Advertisement As of writing, the oddsmakers at FanDuel currently have Duke (+105) to win the title. Florida (+206) has the second-best odds, Houston the third (+300) and Auburn has the fourth (+500). While fans may not have liked Bilas' prediction, they may owe him an apology. Related: Rick Pitino Breaks Silence on RJ Luis Jr. Leaving St. John's After Controversial NCAA Tournament Related: Kim Mulkey Sends Heartfelt Message on Flau'jae Johnson After NCAA Tournament Loss
USA Today
26-03-2025
- Sport
- USA Today
March Madness: Projecting Florida basketball's path to the 2025 NCAA Tournament Final Four
March Madness: Projecting Florida basketball's path to the 2025 NCAA Tournament Final Four The Sweet 16 starts on Thursday as the 2025 NCAA Tournament enters its second weekend of play. Now that the original field of 68 has been whittled down significantly, March Madness is about to kick into overdrive. The Florida Gators' national title hopes are still alive after getting past the 16th-seeded Norfolk State Spartans in the first round before rallying past the two-time defending national champion UConn Huskies in the second round. Now Todd Golden's team faces the Maryland Terrapins in the third round, affectionately known as the Sweet 16. With four more rounds of play remaining, ESPN's Jay Bilas compiled a path to the men's Final Four for every Sweet 16 team, including the Orange and Blue. Take a look below at what he had to offer. Gators make the Final Four if... "They continue to defend at a high level. Florida has great depth, and the Gators can wear you down over the course of 40 minutes," Bilas begins. "The difference between last season and this season is defense. Florida protects the lane and the rim, and Will Richard and Alijah Martin are great steals guys: Martin, the team's best on-ball defender, gets his steals on the ball; Richard is the team's best help defender and gets his steals off the ball." Florida's player to watch "Walter Clayton Jr. UConn had the Gators beat and was headed toward a second-round upset. But Clayton put the cape on and would not let Florida lose," Bilas notes. "He was unflappable, and when Florida needed a bucket, Clayton manufactured it and left your jaw on the floor." Florida's area of concern "At this point, it's hard to find one," Bilas concludes. "Florida has proved it can win against almost any style of play. The Gators are 17-2 since the middle of January and have won eight straight. They have not lost a game outside of SEC play." How to watch Florida-Maryland in Sweet 16 "The No. 1 Florida Gators face off against the No. 4 Maryland Terrapins in the Sweet 16 on Thursday, March 27. That game will be played in San Francisco, California, with tipoff slated for 7:39 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on TBS." Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.
