Best College Basketball Bets for Monday, February 23: Louisville to Get Rare Win in North Carolina

• Louisville won its last game against North Carolina (Jan. 1, 2025), but has lost the previous five in a row

• Louisville last beat the Tar Heels in North Carolina during the 2018-19 season (Jan. 12)

• Houston leads the all-time series vs. Kansas, 3-1. The lone win for the Jayhawks was the first game in the series (Feb. 3, 2024, 78-65)

What a great weekend of college basketball action! Seven underdogs pulled out the win against their ranked opponents. If you had the foresight to bet on one of them, then a hearty congratulations to you.  Now, let’s talk about the Best College Basketball Bets for today, February 23.

For today, we’ll talk about a classic college basketball rivalry featuring two teams from the ACC, No. 21 Louisville and No. 16 North Carolina, and a battle between two Big 12 titans, No. 2 Houston and No. 8 Kansas.

No. 21 Louisville Cardinals vs. No. 16 North Carolina Tar Heels Odds & Pick

• Spread: Louisville -2.5 (-102) | North Carolina +2.5 (-120)

• Moneyline: Louisville -142 | North Carolina +118

• Total: OVER 165.5 (-115) | UNDER 162.5 (-105)

Odds from FanDuel Sportsbook. Join FanDuel and claim your welcome offer: Bet $5, Get $100 in Bonus Bets if Your Bet Wins. Get more info on the FanDuel Promo Code in our detailed overview.

It’s a relatively new rivalry, but it is considered one, nonetheless, and certainly one Louisville would like to make some ground up on. North Carolina has gone 20-8 vs. the Cardinals. While Louisville won last season, the  Tar Heels had won the previous five.

Despite past dominance and home-court advantage, Louisville is the betting favorite. Why? That’s a very good question. It’s not like Louisville has been a great road team this season (3-5), while North Carolina is undefeated at home (15-0).

Prior to the win over Syracuse on Saturday, North Carolina had lost two of its previous three games, one to NC State (82-58) and the other to Miami (75-66). As for Louisville, the Cardinals are fresh off an 87-70 win over Georgia Tech.

While they had lost 95-85 to SMU prior to that, they had won the previous five in a row.

• My Pick: Louisville -2.5 at -102 via FanDuel

I had no intention of picking the Cardinals when I started this preview. North Carolina’s stats, overall, looked a little better to me. Factor in playing at home, and its advantage Tar Heels. But North Carolina will be missing a very important piece once again—star freshman Caleb Wilson.

Wilson injured his hand in the game vs. Miami. In the three without him, they went 2-1. However, beating a dreadful Pitt (2-11 ACC) is nothing to brag about, and they were crushed by NC State pretty badly (82-58). So, it appears that they may miss him.

With Wilson’s absence and Louisville’s offensive potential (86.8 points), the Cardinals will cover.

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No. 2 Houston Cougars vs. No. 8 Kansas Jayhawks Odds & Pick

• Spread: Houston -2.5 (-105) | Kansas -10.5 (-115) 

• Moneyline: Houston -144 | Kansas +120

• Total: OVER 137.5 (-110) | UNDER 137.5 (-110)

Odds from FanDuel Sportsbook

The win over then-No. 1 Arizona should have been a springboard for Kansas, but instead the Jayhawks have taken a few steps back. They followed the big win over the Wildcats with a 74-56 loss to Iowa State.

After getting back on track vs. Oklahoma State, they lost to Cincinnati over the weekend (84-68).

Houston is in desperation mode, too, for a win. It all started with a 70-67 loss to No. 6 Iowa State on Monday, followed by a 73-66 loss to No. 4 Arizona on Saturday. They have three soft opponents to end the regular season, but a win over a top-ten team would ease the concern of fans.

Yes, the Cougars have a stellar defense; the kind people have in mind when they say, “Defense wins championships.” But it is starting to look like they may not have the offense they need to win the tough games in the clutch.

• My Pick: UNDER 137.5 at -110 via FanDuel

I’m leaning towards Houston covering, but I’m more confident the final score will be UNDER the TOTAL. Both teams are reliant on their defenses to keep opposing offenses in check. But when Kansas plays a good defense, its offense tends to struggle.

The Jayhawks defense should slow down the Houston offense enough for the final to stay UNDER 137.5 points.

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