A Bilas layoff would make for one of the more surprising cuts. When it comes to College Basketball, ESPN's primary goal is to promote Duke. Laying off Bilas might take away a bit of the momentum ESPN endlessly spins for Duke.
To be fair to Bilas, I think even he finds ESPN's clear preference for Duke a little over the top, especially when he's sharing the screen with Vitale. And I've grown to appreciate Bilas' wider spread coverage. He's one of only a few of the bigger media guys that makes a point to study and proactively include the teams out west in his commentary - BYU, Arizona, Gonzaga, UCLA.