Tonight’s college basketball slate is fantastic, and one of the best games of the night features the No. 4 Duke Blue Devils hosting the reigning National Champions, the No. 15 Florida Gators, at 7:30 p.m. ET. Duke has started the season with a perfect 8-0 record while Florida is 5-2 through their first seven contests. This is the eighth meeting between these two teams, with Duke having a 5-2 all-time series lead over Florida. Duke beat Florida 87-84 in their previous matchup in November 2017.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Duke is a -8.5-point favorite with the game having an over/under of 155.5 points. Here is my best bet for today’s Florida vs. Duke game.
Florida vs. Duke (7:30 p.m. ET)
Duke has faced three teams from major conferences this season and has won each game. The Blue Devils beat Texas by 16, Kansas by 12, and Arkansas by nine points. A big reason for Duke’s success this season has been Cameron Boozer’s success as a freshman, who has been one of the best players in the country. Boozer is averaging 22.9 points, 9.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 1.8 steals, and 1.1 blocks per contest. He has four games this season with 25 or more points. Patrick Ngongba IIĀ (12.8) and Isaiah Evans (12.5) are the other two players who Duke who average at least 10 points.
According to KenPom, Duke is ranked No. 3, with Florida at No. 16. Duke also has the fifth-best offense and defensive ratings. The most points Duke has allowed this season is 71, and it has held seven opponents to 66 or fewer. Florida has the 23rd-best offensive rating and could struggle to keep up with Duke.
The Gators have five players averaging double-digit points per contest, with Thomas Haugh leading the way with 17.9. Alex Condon is second on the team in scoring with 15.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game. Florida has two games this season with at least 90 points, but has only totaled 82 or fewer in four of their previous five games.
Even though Florida has an excellent frontcourt, Duke has the necessary players to match up with them. Also, the Blue Devils have only three players scoring in double digits per game, but they have a deep roster with nine players averaging at least 10 minutes per contest. Duke has looked dominant to start the season and doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon. Getting the Blue Devils to cover the spread of -8.5 is the best play in this contest on DraftKings Sportsbook.
