NCAA analyst Jay Bilas makes bold claim on Cooper Flagg's Duke possibly facing Florida for the NCAA championship
ESPN college basketball analyst Jay Bilas boldly claims that the Cooper Flagg-led Duke Blue Devils will face their toughest matchup in the national championship final against the Florida Gators if both teams hurdle their respective Final Four foes on Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
On Tuesday, Bilas claimed in his guest appearance on "The Ryen Russillo Podcast" when he broke down the Final Four pairings in the 2025 March Madness. He believes Duke and Florida are the best teams still standing in this year's tournament and have played better than expected of them.
The former Duke assistant coach expects Southeastern Conference team Florida to be a matchup problem for Flagg and Jon Scheyer due to the Gators' skilled big guys who can grab offensive rebounds like picking oranges from an orchard.
"I think Florida — with their size, their offensive rebounding. Their big guys are skilled and they're physical and tough," Bilas said. "If Duke played them, I think it would be probably the toughest matchup for both that they would see all year."
This season, the Gators have averaged 12.2 offensive rebounds per game, most of which came from Alex Condon, Thomas Haugh and Rueben Chinyelu. The 6-foot-11 Condon has picked up 2.9 offensive rebounds per game, while the 6-foot-9 Haugh hauled down 2.4 orpg in 38 games.
Meanwhile, the 6-foot-10 Chinyelu has 2.3 orpg in almost 19 minutes per outing for Florida, which has won 10 in a row since losing to Georgia on Feb. 25.
In comparison, Duke has pulled down 10.0 orpg, and 7-foot-2 freshman center Khaman Maluach is the most prominent offensive rebounder for the Blue Devils with 2.8 orpg. The second-best offensive rebounder for Duke is Cooper Flagg, who has hauled down 1.3 offensive boards each outing.
Controlling the rebounds would be an advantage for a team in the tournament, as it would allow one to secure more possessions and chances to score.
Jay Bilas discusses the impact of Walter Clayton Jr. in Florida's March Madness run
Jay Bilas also tackled the importance of Florida guard Walter Clayton Jr. in the Gators' March Madness run. The veteran basketball analyst pointed out that Clayton, who averages 18.1 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 4.2 apg and 1.2 spg, is the team's go-to guy when they need someone to score in crunch time.
Bilas believed that Clayton's football background may have helped him to be physically strong on both sides of the court. He noted the guard's significant improvement on the defensive end, as he has helped the team rise from 90th in defensive efficiency to the Top 10 this season.
"He's one of the few guys remaining that if an offense breaks down, he can just take it on himself and go find you a basket," Bilas said about Clayton, who once played for Rick Pitino in Iona for two seasons before transferring to Florida in 2023.
Bilas described the last teams standing in the Final Four as a rarity, for they have ranked in the Top 10 in both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball.
The Final Four starts at 6:09 p.m. ET with Florida taking on Auburn. The second game is on Saturday, where Houston and Duke will clash in the other Final Four duel at 8:49 p.m. ET.