Ex-ESPN analyst, coach slams Jay Bilas immediately before March Madness
ESPN’s Jay Bilas is a Duke-educated lawyer and one of the more respected voices in the college basketball media when March Madness rolls around. Bilas, 62, was also a four-year starter for head coach Mike Krzyzewski on the Blue Devils’ men’s basketball team in the 1980s. MORE: Jason Whitlock sends message to Doug Gottlieb after college hoops stunner You can’t spell “Bilas” without “bias,” and that’s been the basis for a chorus of complaints against Bilas over the years.
No broadcaster is without his critics, and Duke’s polarizing place in the college basketball ecosystem makes Bilas something of a lightning rod for Duke haters. When those complaints come from a former colleague and current Division I head coach, they carry a little more weight. So it was this week when Doug Gottlieb called out Bilas’ role in shaping ESPN’s college basketball coverage, emphasizing the blue-chip Blue Devils program over a more balanced approach to the entire field of 64.
“Can we all admit his entire professional broadcasting life is based upon one thing: Duke? ” Gottlieb asked Jason Whitlock on the March 17 episode of “ Fearless . ” Gottlieb helped launch ESPNU in 2005 before becoming a mainstay on SportsCenter and working as an analyst on ESPN’s college basketball coverage.
Now the head coach of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay men’s basketball program, Gottlieb coached the Phoenix to the Horizon League tournament for the first time since the 2019-20 season. — Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories on The Big Lead — MARCH MADNESS: Predicting March Madness upsets in the 2026 NCAA Tournament NFL DRAFT: New Mel Kiper NFL mock draft shows major impact of free agency MLB: Dodgers announce Shohei Ohtani’s spring training pitching debut NHL: Oilers’ Leon Draisaitl out for regular season with lower-body injury ENTERTAINMENT: Is ‘Bachelorette’ still airing amid Taylor Frankie Paul domestic dispute allegations? VIRAL: Livvy Dunne shares ‘Baywatch’ training with BTS swimsuit, set photos