Up Close with the Pittsburgh Sports Report
ESPN's Jay Bilas

A four-year starter for the Duke Blue Devils, Jay Bilas was drafted in 1986 by the Dallas Mavericks and played professionally in Italy and Spain from 1986-89. He went back to school in 1990, attending Duke's School of Law and working as an assistant coach under Mike Krzyzewski. He joined ESPN as a college basketball analyst in 1995 and has been nominated for two Emmy's for Outstanding Performance by a Studio Analyst. This past month he caught up with PSR's Joe Giardina on his way to covering the Pitt vs. UConn game in Connecticut.

PSR: Pitt was ranked number one for the first time in school history this year. Was that the missing link to them being referred to as an elite program?

Bilas: I think they were called an elite program before that. They've won Big East championships and the last eight years I think you'd be hard pressed to find more than four or five programs that have won as much.

PSR: Why haven't they been able to get over the Sweet 16 hump?

Bilas: I don't know. Some years it might just be an opponent. I don't think it has anything to do with style of play or anything like that. There is no one thing you can point to and say, "You know, if they would just wise up and do this then the flood gates would open." It's just not that simple."

PSR: Do their deep runs into Big East tournaments wear them down when it comes time for the NCAA tournament?

Bilas: It didn't seem to bother UConn in different years. Could it? Maybe. But I doubt it. I don't think that has much to do with it at all, especially since they've never had to play four games. Other teams play in tournaments, and heck they get an extra day. They play [the championship game] on Saturday, most other tournaments end on Sunday. I just think all those things are facile interpretation.

PSR: Where does this team rank with the others in the Jamie Dixon/Ben Howland era?

Bilas: Offensively, it's probably as good as any. They're really efficient. They are really good in transition, which they haven't always been. I think that in years past there were some teams at Pitt that have been ultra successful but they've been pretty methodical on the offensive end. But I think this team has a little bit better balance. They aren't a great shooting team but they've been shooting it much better the last few weeks. So I think right now their offense is very, very good.

PSR: What do they need to do to win it all this season?

Bilas: Same things they've been doing. There is no magic formula. I know there are an awful lot of smart people that are in basketball, and they can watch all the tape they want. But it's not like you can point to one sort of schematic thing, an X's and O's thing, personnel move, method of preparation... there is nothing that I would do any differently. If the way they play is good enough to win the Big East championship its good enough to get really deep into the NCAA tournament.

PSR: Where does the Big East tournament rank with the other tournaments across the country?

Bilas: The two best tournaments are the Big East and the ACC. The ACC kind of gave away what made it the premier thing and that was eight teams, everyone playing on day one. It's still one of the two best, but the reason I think the Big East is a little bit better is because it's in Madison Square Garden, the same place every year. It's in the center of everything. You can walk in and walk out into restaurants and bars. You don't have to get in your car and mess with parking. It's just really a fan-friendly tournament. It's just a great experience.

PSR: How does the loss of Jerome Dyson affect UConn?

Bilas: Well, it gives them one less great player. But every team has depth issues that they have to deal with and this isn't the first injury [UConn] has suffered. But they've got very good depth and this provides an opportunity for some other really good players to step forward and expand their roles. They've had guys hurt before…Dyson missed nine games last year and [Craig] Austrie filled in. When Marcus Williams was out in 2005-06 for a period of time, Austrie filled in and I don't think he lost a game as the starting point guard. So they've got capable players that can step in. Would it be better to have Dyson? Of course it would. But it's not the death to their title chances.

PSR: Who is the one player who has to be on the court for Pitt to win?

Bilas: DeJuan Blair. They can't win at the highest level without [Sam Young] and [Levance] Fields on the floor, but they are a different team without Blair in there. He clears a lot of space for his teammates and then if you miss a shot he's there to clean it up.

PSR: How does Blair compare to the other big men in the country?

Bilas: DeJuan Blair is the best offensive rebounder in the country, and it's not a close call. His rebounding numbers are off the charts on the offensive end and they're pretty close to off the charts overall. But he really outpaces everybody offensively. He has great hands and a great motor. I would put him right up there with any big guy, not only in the Big East, but in the country. He's a different kind of player than (Connecticut's Hasheem) Thabeet. Thabeet is unique. He's not an offensive player. He has to play off of his teammates and get most of his stuff off rebounds and penetration. He's not the type of guy you're going to throw the ball to in the post and he'll get you a score. But he is so good defensively and such a force you have to change the way you play to deal with him.

PSR: Last year all the number one seeds made it to the Final Four. This year it seems like any of 15 to 20 teams have a legit shot of making it. Is there a clear-cut favorite to win it all?

Bilas: I think, and I said it at the beginning of the year, that North Carolina and UConn are the best teams in the country and they were. They still are, and at the end of the year they will still be, too. That doesn't mean that somebody can't beat them, but I think that it's playing out pretty much the way people thought it would.