Best College Basketball Bets Today (Saturday 2/3)

The 2023-24 College Basketball season is underway, and we are getting into the depths of conference play. We have a handful of great matchups across the country, and below is my favorite bet of the Saturday slate. Let’s have some fun.

Duke vs. UNC

(Duke +4.5, DraftKings Sportsbook)

The greatest rivalry in all of college basketball takes place in Chapel Hill today, as Duke travels to play the North Carolina Tar Heels in a battle atop the ACC. The Duke and UNC matchup always creates an exciting atmosphere, and the winner will stand alone in first place of the conference. North Carolina has had an outstanding start to the season behind the sensational play of point guard RJ Davis, especially in conference play with their 9-1 record. 

Duke, on the other hand, has slightly underperformed its preseason hype and has dealt with some inconsistency and injuries. But the Blue Devils are playing much better basketball of late and are winners of three straight. The Dean Dome will be jumping for this rivalry, but Duke has some matchup advantages it can exploit in this one.

North Carolina is known for its lethal transition offense and patented secondary break. But Duke is capable of shutting that part of the UNC offense down, as the Blue Devils own one of the elite transition defenses in the country and will really force the Tar Heels to execute in the halfcourt. Duke can be susceptible at the rim defensively without a true center, but UNC has really gone away from feeding big man Armando Bacot this season and has become very reliant on its backcourt play. UNC can struggle in its pick-and-roll defense and defending in space, where the emergence of dynamic point guard Tyrese Proctor has really ascended the Blue Devil offense, supplemented by veteran backcourt mate Jeremy Roach. Chapel Hill will make this one electric, but Duke will certainly be up for this one and could exploit some mismatches to steal the road win.

The Pick

Duke +4.5