When you think of the top voices and analysts in college basketball, Jay Bilas is one of the first names that comes to mind. He was a starter for the Duke Blue Devils for four seasons in the 80s, as he came up just short of winning a national championship with a loss to Louisville in the 1986 championship game. Today, Bilas works for ESPN where he’s seen covering games and providing his takes on college prospects during the annual NBA Draft.
Recently, Bilas appeared on SportsCenter where he was asked to give his thoughts on which team he thinks is the best in the nation with most of the top-ranked teams featuring in Saturday’s college basketball slate. Factoring in a multitude of reasons from ESPN’s BPI to just how well each team has performed to this point, Bilas found himself stuck on two teams.
Shared by On3, Bilas said “I think Duke’s upward trajectory is going to put them in a really good position as they head toward the NCAA tournament. They’re not playing the same kind of gauntlet schedule, but Auburn without Johni Broome, has shown that other guys can step up. I mean, Chaney Johnson had 17 points, eight rebounds, four blocks in that blowout win they had against Mississippi State.”
Currently ranked as the number one and three teams by the AP and Coaches Poll, Auburn and Duke are led by Wooden Award favorites Cooper Flagg and Johni Broome. As a freshman, Flagg has dominated in ACC play up to this point, averaging 22.1 points, 7.6 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and shooting 52% from behind the arc. As for Broome, he’s cooled down as of late, with his most recent performance being six points and three rebounds at South Carolina.
In terms of the team statistics today, Duke enters Saturday allowing 59.3 points per game (sixth-best in the nation) compared to Auburn’s 66.0. On the contrary, Auburn has the more impressive offensive production scoring 86.6 points per game (eighth-best in the nation) compared to Duke’s 80.9.
Additionally, the Houston Cougars lead the way in ESPN’s BPI over Duke and Auburn despite being ranked 10th in the AP Poll. While analysts like Bilas are giving their picks now for who college basketball’s best team is, anything can happen in March.