Of course, Jay Bilas loves Duke, but he emphasizes that he no longer plays for the Blue Devils. In a conversation with Skip Bayless on The Skip Bayless Show, he shared that while he aims to be fair, being biased is a different challenge altogether. Bilas admits that part of his job he could do without is the pressure to pick winners, though not necessarily for Duke.
“I don’t play for Duke anymore,” Bilas explained. “Of course, I loved being there, but I don’t care whether they win or lose — that’s their problem. I have too much respect for the other programs. They let you in, and you see how they operate, so I hold the competition and competitors in high regard.” He mentions that picking is part of the job now, a shift from the past where he wasn’t required to choose winners. “When Duke’s the better team, you pick ’em, and when they’re not, you say so. Over time, you hope to build credibility with your assessments.” He adds that he is open to reasonable criticism but dismisses the idea that his Duke affiliation undermines his opinion. “Just because I went to Duke doesn’t mean you can’t trust what I say.”
However, he stresses that such concerns don’t trouble him. “That’s never been an issue for me. I understand how this business works, and I don’t have a problem with fans.” Bilas recalls an experience from about 20 years ago when he spoke at a Duke alumni event shortly before the 2001 Final Four, during which he had picked Maryland to beat Duke. After Duke’s comeback win, a Duke alum confronted him about his pick. “I said, ‘Yes sir, I did. That was a bad pick.’ He then told me I should never pick against Duke again. I replied, ‘Do you pick Duke every year to win the championship?’ He said he did, and I pointed out, ‘Congratulations, you’re now 4-7.’ What value is there in automatically picking them?”
Bilas then questioned why fans care so much about his picks. “I don’t like picking games because I don’t know who’s going to win. If I did, I’d be in Vegas making money instead of commenting on sports.” He joked about wishing he had the “Grays Sports Almanac” from Back to the Future 2. “Some years, I do really well; this year’s one of them. But I don’t go around bragging about my picks. If people want to use them in their pools, great. If not, that’s fine too.”
He noted a shift in expectations over the years, from focusing on game analysis to solely picking winners. “Nobody is truly qualified to predict these outcomes,” he added, acknowledging the expertise of football analysts while expressing his limitations in that sport. “I might watch the Super Bowl, but even experts can get it wrong; for instance, many picked Kansas City to win but were surprised when they lost.”
