In this episode, Jay Bilas talks about Kentucky basketball, the upcoming Louisville game, and other things.

ESPN expert Jay Bilas talked about Kentucky basketball on the V Show podcast with Bob Valvano. He talked about what makes Mark Pope’s Wildcats a team to watch this season. They talk about how Pope put together the team and what Kentucky needs to do to slow down Louisville.

Bilas began by comparing Kentucky and Louisville, pointing out that the Cardinals are focused on making three-point shots. He stressed that Kentucky’s game plan should focus on stopping Chucky Hepburn, who he called “one of the best defensive guards in the country” and said made three steals per game. Bilas also said it was important to stop Louisville’s Reyne Smith from getting rhythm from beyond the line.

Bilas didn’t hold back when he talked about Kentucky’s overall path. “There’s no doubt that Kentucky is the better team,” he said. “They’re playing well, and it looks like all of their older guys are graduate students.” Plus, it’s fun to watch them play because they work well together. Bilas also said that he thinks Kentucky will keep getting better and stay in the running until the end of the season.

The subject changed to hiring new players and how Mark Pope has put together this team. Putting together a roster isn’t like fantasy sports, as Bob Valvano said. Bilas agreed, praising Pope’s ability to find the right mix of skill and fit. Bilas said, “What Pope has done is mixed what Rick Pitino called PHD—poor, hungry, and driven.” Pope has made some very smart decisions. He praised Kentucky’s use of analytics to find players like Amari Williams, saying that they put skills that work well together ahead of standard rankings of who is the better player.

The players on Kentucky’s team then get along better with each other. Pope could have picked up more “talented” players who are thought to make the team better overall, but it wouldn’t be as good as it is now.

Pope hasn’t been after the best players; instead, he’s been looking for players who can fill specific jobs and make the team better than the sum of its parts. From Bilas’s point of view, this strategy is what makes Kentucky a real threat to win in March.