Banking on a pair of men’s college hoops chalk favorites: Best bets for Feb. 20

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Duke guard Jeremy Roach, left, celebrates with forward Dariq Whitehead after scoring against Syracuse during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Syracuse, N.Y., Saturday, Feb. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus)

Each day, one of our experts will offer up a best bet (or two or three) that mobile sportsbooks are offering. It might be a traditional spread bet, a player prop or one of the various odds boosts that books offer.

Here are our best bets for Monday, Feb. 20:

TOP PLAY

The play: NCAA men’s basketball, Duke (-18) over Louisville

The odds/bet: -110 ($33 to win $30)

The book: Caesars Sportsbook

Time/TV: 7 p.m. (ESPN)

Our take: There aren’t too many tougher places to play than Cameron Indoor Stadium as evidenced by Duke’s perfect home record in ACC games this season.

This year’s Duke team isn’t as strong as usual having fallen out of the top 25, but they’re still plenty talented enough to win games by wide margins and project to do just that tonight against Louisville.

Louisville has struggled to the tune of a 4-23 record, so while 18 points is a wide spread, Duke should still be able to cover considering how dominant they’ve been at home and how down Louisville is.

ANOTHER CHALK PLAY

The play: NCAA men’s basketball, Illinois (-15) over Minnesota

The odds/bet: -110 ($11 to win $10)

The book: Caesars Sportsbook

Time/TV: 9 p.m. (Big Ten Network)

Our take: The Big Ten normally produces exciting basketball matchups that could go either way, but tonight’s Minnesota-Illinois contest isn’t setting up to be that way.

Illinois has been a mid-pack Big Ten team, so while they haven’t played at the level that they’re capable of, they’ve handled business for the most part against lesser opponents.

Minnesota is at the bottom of the Big Ten barrel with a 1-13 conference record, so it should be smooth sailing for Illinois as they look to get back on track after two straight losses.

HOW WE’VE FARED

Sunday’s best bets

  • NBA All-Star Game, Team LeBron money line over Team Giannis (LOST $46.50)
  • English Premier League, Tottenham money line over West Ham (WON $10)
  • PGA Genesis Invitational, Justin Thomas to finish top 10 (LOST $10)

Sunday’s profit/loss: -$36.50 (1-2)

Final total for the week: -14.50 (6-7)

Total for February: -$87.50 (16-20)

Total for 2023: -$155 (41-54)

NOTE: If a line or odds are minus, it considers the juice one must lay to place the bet. Ex: Team A is -160 on the money line, one would have to bet $160 to win $100 (or $16 to win $10). OR Team B is a 5-point favorite at -110, one would have to bet $110 to win $100 (or $11 to win $10.)

Conversely, on positive lines, if Team C is +140 on the money line, $100 would bring in $140 (or $10 to win $14).

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