The No. 1 team in the country faces the potential No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft.
Few, if any, college basketball games this season will have the intrigue of Monday night’s showdown between the top-ranked Arizona Wildcats and the AJ Dybantsa-led BYU Cougars at the Marriott Center in Provo, Utah. The Wildcats (20-0) are one of three undefeated teams in the country and have five wins against Top 25 teams this season. Meanwhile, the athletic 6-foot-9 Dybantsa ranks second in the nation in scoring (23.6 points per game) and is coming off a 43-point mic drop effort in Saturday’s 91-78 victory over Utah.
In addition, the Cougars (17-2) will be looking for just the second win over a No. 1-ranked team in program history.
Arizona is a slim 1.5-point favorite over BYU on Monday.
While Wildcats vs. Cougars is the marquee attraction on Monday, there are other options on a sporting landscape that includes seven NBA games and a full college basketball schedule. Below is a snapshot of what to watch and bet for Monday, Jan. 26. All times Eastern.
College basketball best bets, where to watch
No. 20 Louisville at No. 4 Duke
Time: 7 p.m. | Location: Durham, N.C. | TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model:Â Duke -8.5
As sensational as Dybantsa has been this season, the current favorite to earn the national Player of the Year award is Duke’s Cameron Boozer, who is -475 at DraftKings to win the award to Dybantsa’s +600. The son of Blue Devils legend Carlos Boozer leads the country in scoring (23.7 points per game), just ahead of Dybantsa, and ranks third in the ACC in rebounding (9.9 per game). When these teams last met on Jan. 6 Boozer had 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting, eight rebounds and four assists. The Blue Devils won that game 84-73 after trailing by nine points at halftime. The SportsLine Projection Model, which simulates every college basketball game 10,000 times, says Duke has a 52% chance to cover and assigns a “C” grade to Blue Devils -8.5.
No. 1 Arizona at No. 13 BYU
Time: 9 p.m. | Location: Provo, Utah | TV: ESPN | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model:Â BYU +1.5
The Marriott Center doesn’t get enough credit as one of the toughest road environments in college basketball. The Cougars have won 13 in a row at home, which includes 11 wins this season. Dybantsa, Richie Saunders (18.8 points per game) and Robert Wright III (18.0) give BYU arguably the best scoring trio in the country. They combine to account for 69.6% of the Cougars’ points this season. The SportsLine Projection Model says BYU has a 63% chance to cover and gives a “B” grade to BYU +1.5.
NBA best bets, where to watch
Magic at Cavaliers
Time: 7 p.m. | Location: Cleveland | TV: Peacock | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model:Â Cavaliers -6.5
Cleveland may be starting to turn its season around. The No. 1 team in the Eastern Conference last season, the Cavaliers (27-20) have won five of their last six and are seven games over .500 for the first time this season. Just two nights ago Cleveland beat this same Magic team in Orlando, 119-105, despite the game being the second half of a back-to-back. One of the main reasons for the Cavaliers’ turnaround is Donovan Mitchell, who has scored 69 points over the last two games, including 36 on Saturday. The SportsLine Projection Model says Cleveland has a 67% chance to cover and assigns a “B” grade to Cavaliers -6.5.
Trail Blazers at Celtics
Time: 8 p.m. | Location: Boston | TV: Peacock | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model:Â Over 224.5
What team now has the No. 1 offense in the NBA? That would be the Boston Celtics (28-17), who average 121.2 points per 100 possessions, just ahead of the Nuggets (121.0). At home, the Celtics are slightly better, averaging 121.8 points per 100. On Monday, Boston has a favorable matchup against a struggling Portland defense. The Trail Blazers (23-23) are giving up 115.1 points per 100, which ranks 18th in the league. The SportsLine Projection Model says there’s a 60.1% chance the teams combine for 225 points or more and gives a “B” grade to Over 224.5. Note Portland star Deni Avdija is questionable to play on Monday and his status is worth tracking prior to the game.
Warriors at Timberwolves
Time: 9:30 p.m. | Location: Minneapolis | TV: Peacock | Stream: Fubo (Try for free)
SportsLine picks — Model:Â Warriors +224 | Expert: Timberwolves -7.5 (Bruce Marshall)
The Warriors and Timberwolves face each other for the second night in a row at the Target Center. On Sunday, Stephen Curry scored a team-high 26-points as the Jimmy Butler-less Warriors (26-21) blew out the Timberwolves 111-85. Minnesota (27-19) has now lost five straight games. Marshall notes, however, that the team that loses the first game of these baseball-type series usually has the advantage in the second game. “And the Warriors are unlikely to reprise their Sunday effort without Jimmy Butler and almost assuredly minus Jonathan Kuminga on Monday,” he says. The SportsLine Projection Model disagrees. It says Golden State has a 44% chance to win and assigns a “B” grade to the Warriors money line (+224).
require.config({“baseUrl”:”https://sportsfly.cbsistatic.com/fly-395/bundles/sportsmediajs/js-build”,”config”:{“version”:{“fly/components/accordion”:”1.0″,”fly/components/alert”:”1.0″,”fly/components/base”:”1.0″,”fly/components/carousel”:”1.0″,”fly/components/dropdown”:”1.0″,”fly/components/fixate”:”1.0″,”fly/components/form-validate”:”1.0″,”fly/components/image-gallery”:”1.0″,”fly/components/iframe-messenger”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more-article”:”1.0″,”fly/components/load-more-scroll”:”1.0″,”fly/components/loading”:”1.0″,”fly/components/modal”:”1.0″,”fly/components/modal-iframe”:”1.0″,”fly/components/network-bar”:”1.0″,”fly/components/poll”:”1.0″,”fly/components/search-player”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-button”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-counts”:”1.0″,”fly/components/social-links”:”1.0″,”fly/components/tabs”:”1.0″,”fly/components/video”:”1.0″,”fly/libs/easy-xdm”:”2.4.17.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.cookie”:”1.2″,”fly/libs/jquery.throttle-debounce”:”1.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.widget”:”1.9.2″,”fly/libs/omniture.s-code”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init”:”1.0″,”fly/libs/jquery.mobile”:”1.3.2″,”fly/libs/backbone”:”1.0.0″,”fly/libs/underscore”:”1.5.1″,”fly/libs/jquery.easing”:”1.3″,”fly/managers/ad”:”2.0″,”fly/managers/components”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/cookie”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/debug”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/geo”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/gpt”:”4.3″,”fly/managers/history”:”2.0″,”fly/managers/madison”:”1.0″,”fly/managers/social-authentication”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/data-prefix”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/data-selector”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/function-natives”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/guid”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/log”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/object-helper”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/string-helper”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/string-vars”:”1.0″,”fly/utils/url-helper”:”1.0″,”libs/jshashtable”:”2.1″,”libs/select2″:”3.5.1″,”libs/jsonp”:”2.4.0″,”libs/jquery/mobile”:”1.4.5″,”libs/modernizr.custom”:”2.6.2″,”libs/velocity”:”1.2.2″,”libs/dataTables”:”1.10.6″,”libs/dataTables.fixedColumns”:”3.0.4″,”libs/dataTables.fixedHeader”:”2.1.2″,”libs/dateformat”:”1.0.3″,”libs/waypoints/infinite”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/inview”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/jquery.waypoints”:”3.1.1″,”libs/waypoints/sticky”:”3.1.1″,”libs/jquery/dotdotdot”:”1.6.1″,”libs/jquery/flexslider”:”2.1″,”libs/jquery/lazyload”:”1.9.3″,”libs/jquery/maskedinput”:”1.3.1″,”libs/jquery/marquee”:”1.3.1″,”libs/jquery/numberformatter”:”1.2.3″,”libs/jquery/placeholder”:”0.2.4″,”libs/jquery/scrollbar”:”0.1.6″,”libs/jquery/tablesorter”:”2.0.5″,”libs/jquery/touchswipe”:”1.6.18″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.draggable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.mouse”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.position”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.slider”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.sortable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.touch-punch”:”0.2.3″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.autocomplete”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.accordion”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.menu”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.dialog”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.resizable”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.button”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tooltip”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.effects”:”1.11.4″,”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.datepicker”:”1.11.4″}},”shim”:{“liveconnection/managers/connection”:{“deps”:[“liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4″]},”liveconnection/libs/sockjs-0.3.4”:{“exports”:”SockJS”},”libs/setValueFromArray”:{“exports”:”set”},”libs/getValueFromArray”:{“exports”:”get”},”fly/libs/jquery.mobile-1.3.2″:[“version!fly/utils/jquery-mobile-init”],”libs/backbone.marionette”:{“deps”:[“jquery”,”version!fly/libs/underscore”,”version!fly/libs/backbone”],”exports”:”Marionette”},”fly/libs/underscore-1.5.1″:{“exports”:”_”},”fly/libs/backbone-1.0.0″:{“deps”:[“version!fly/libs/underscore”,”jquery”],”exports”:”Backbone”},”libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.tabs-1.11.4″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/jquery/ui/jquery.ui.core”,”version!fly/libs/jquery.widget”],”libs/jquery/flexslider-2.1″:[“jquery”],”libs/dataTables.fixedColumns-3.0.4″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/dataTables”],”libs/dataTables.fixedHeader-2.1.2″:[“jquery”,”version!libs/dataTables”],”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js”:[“https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js”]},”map”:{“*”:{“adobe-pass”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/app/VideoPlayer/AdobePass-min.js”,”facebook”:”https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js”,”facebook-debug”:”https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/all/debug.js”,”google”:”https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js”,”google-csa”:”https://www.google.com/adsense/search/async-ads.js”,”google-javascript-api”:”https://www.google.com/jsapi”,”google-client-api”:”https://accounts.google.com/gsi/client”,”gpt”:”https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js”,”hlsjs”:”https://cdnjs.cloudflare.com/ajax/libs/hls.js/1.0.7/hls.js”,”recaptcha”:”https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api.js?onload=loadRecaptcha&render=explicit”,”recaptcha_ajax”:”https://www.google.com/recaptcha/api/js/recaptcha_ajax.js”,”supreme-golf”:”https://sgapps-staging.supremegolf.com/search/assets/js/bundle.js”,”taboola”:”https://cdn.taboola.com/libtrc/cbsinteractive-cbssports/loader.js”,”twitter”:”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js”,”video-avia”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/player/avia.min.js”,”video-avia-ui”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/ui/avia.ui.min.js”,”video-avia-gam”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/gam/avia.gam.min.js”,”video-avia-hls”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/hls/avia.hls.min.js”,”video-avia-playlist”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/avia-js/2.48.0/plugins/playlist/avia.playlist.min.js”,”video-ima3″:”https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3.js”,”video-ima3-dai”:”https://imasdk.googleapis.com/js/sdkloader/ima3_dai.js”,”video-utils”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/js/CBSi/util/Utils-min.js”,”video-vast-tracking”:”https://sports.cbsimg.net/fly/js/sb55/vast-js/vtg-vast-client.js”}},”waitSeconds”:300});
