The Daily Sweat: Is Duke finally showing signs of breaking out?

Duke's first season with Jon Scheyer at the helm isn't going that great.

The Blue Devils were 14-6 in late January. A highly touted freshman class has been good but not great, and there has been some bad injury luck. There was supposed to be a fairly seamless transition from Mike Krzyzewski to longtime assistant Scheyer, but it hasn't been too smooth.

There are signs of improvement though. Duke has won three in a row, including a win against North Carolina over the weekend. The Tar Heels aren't as good as expected either, but it's still a positive in a Duke season that hasn't had many signature wins.

If Duke is back, we should see it on Monday night. The Blue Devils play at a good Miami team. Miami is a 2.5-point favorite at BetMGM.

Miami has been up and down a bit this season too, but it is a clear NCAA tournament team and hasn't lost at home all season. The Hurricanes have a good offensive team, which will test Duke's defense.

Both Miami and Duke are No. 6 seeds in average bracket projections. A win by either on Monday night would keep them in the race for the ACC regular season title. Because of its pedigree and preseason expectations, there could still be a surge coming for Duke. A quality road win on Monday night would validate Duke's winning streak, and perhaps be the sign of better things to come.

Here's a first look at the sports betting slate on Monday:

Texas-Kansas is a great matchup

The second game on "Big Monday" is a really good matchup on an otherwise quiet Monday in college basketball. No. 10 Texas faces No. 8 Kansas at Allen Fieldhouse. Kansas is a 4.5-point favorite. Kansas has lost four of six and is coming off a surprisingly uncompetitive 15-point loss at Iowa State over the weekend. This doesn't have the look of a classic Bill Self team.

Texas has overcome adversity to be in first place of the Big 12. A win at Kansas could be a huge step toward a regular season championship.

NBA has 8 games

There are eight NBA games, though not a lot of stellar matchups. The Brooklyn Nets, after trading Kyrie Irving, take on the Los Angeles Clippers. The Nets are a 7.5-point home underdog. The Dallas Mavericks aren't expected to have Irving (or Luka Doncic) for Monday night's game at the Utah Jazz. The Mavs are an 8.5-point road underdog.

NHL returns

The NHL is back from its All-Star break. There are six games, including some quality matchups. The Tampa Bay Lightning are a -120 favorite at the Florida Panthers in what should be a good game. The game of the night could be the Calgary Flames at the New York Rangers. Both teams are -110 odds.

What's the best bet?

We'll go with one for each "Big Monday" game. First we'll take Miami as a 2.5-point favorite. There's no reason to be completely sold on Duke, and Miami is a good home team. Then we'll go with Texas getting 4.5 points. Kansas is very tough at home, but Texas is the better team right now.