ESPN College GameDay crew make national title predictions for 2024 basketball season

On Saturday morning’s edition of ESPN College GameDay, the crew went around and each picked the team they believe will cut down the nets in the national championship a few months down the line.

So below, you can see the national title picks from Jay Bilas, Jay Williams, Andraya Carter and Seth Greenberg, along with a full explanation from each GameDay member on why their pick is the right one. Let’s start with the former Duke stars:

Bilas: “I’m gonna go with Purdue. They’re a team that shoots close to 60% in effective field goal percentage, 40% from 3, they got five different guys that shoot over 40% on that team. They have a singular weapon in Zach Edey that opponents have to change everything they do to deal with.”

“I think the issue is going to be when they get to the NCAA Tournament, are they gonna step up to open shots that are going to be given to them, and take them with extreme confidence. With the improvement of Braden Smith, adding Lance Jones to the lineup with that athletic piece, I like Purdue to cut the nets down.”

Williams: “Right now, I’m going to go with the (UConn) Huskies. Getting a chance to watch them play, I just love the way they really defend. I mean, they get in your pocket defensively and they are relentless. Similar to last year with (Adama) Sanogo and (Donovan) Clingan, you see that with Samson Johnson and Clingan this year with their ability to changeup the defenses and how they guard.

“I think (Stephon) Castle hasn’t even come close to reaching his potential yet. This team hasn’t been fully healthy, and also, I love the way Tristen Newton plays alongside Cam Spencer. Feels like this could be a back-to-back championship.”

Andraya Carter was right on the same page as Williams, and believes UConn is the rare title-winner who was able to maintain their edge and build a roster full of guys who are still hungry for that ultimate success.

Carter: “Yeah, I think they have such a high ceiling and those guys are motivated. There are returners that were part of that national championship win last season, but didn’t have major roles; those guys are hungry.

“Cam Spencer’s never been to the NCAA Tournament, he’s hungry. Then you have freshmen coming in and playing big roles. And you gotta think, they watched a few of their teammates take it to the next level and go to the NBA. That’s motivating for guys. The motivation level to win again and have a high degree of success, I think it’s huge for this team.”

Lastly, Seth Greenberg came a little bit out of left field to throw a certain blue blood some love.

Greenberg: “I’ve got Kentucky. You talk about long game, you look at Kentucky. How many teams can bring Reed Sheppard and Rob Dillingham off the bench that can impact the game offensively, defensively? How many teams in the country have two seven-footers — who have only played about 10 games, but in terms of their impact? (Ugonna) Onyenso blocks shots, (Aaron) Bradshaw is a matchup problem, because he can step out and pull you away from the basket. Both are lob threats.

“They’ve got to improve their defense in terms of defending the basketball, defending ball screens, rebounding the ball better. That’s what you have the season for. But if they do those two things, they are the most talented and deepest team that can survive an injury in the backcourt and be unchanged.”