College Basketball DFS Picks for Friday, November 14
Friday slates are great, at least in early November. We get to close up the week with a variety of excellent basketball options. Soon enough Saturdays will be wall to wall college hoops, but we can enjoy these pre-Ivy League Friday schedules in which we get to see teams like Duke, Arizona and Gonzaga.
Keep an eye on Desmond Claude ($7,400), the Washington guard, who has yet to make his season debut. The 6-6 guard has been out of the lineup with ankle issues, but he may be nearing a return. He put up 15.8 points and 4.3 assists with USC last season and was expected to be a focal point to the Washington offense. His return against Washington State might be sweet for the Husky faithful.
Gonzaga also faces its first road test of the season, as the Bulldogs head to Tempe to face Arizona State. Graham Ike ($9,000) should always be considered, but his propensity to foul could be an issue on the road. If Ike is on the bench, Braden Huff ($6,000) and Tyon Grant-Foster ($4,100) could be nice value plays. Adam Miller ($3,500) hasn't done much this season, but he played for the Sun Devils for the last two seasons and could be a good revenge-type play.
College Basketball DFS Top Players
Bennett Stirtz, G, Iowa ($9,700)
It is becoming evident that Iowa does not have a backup point guard. Even in contests against Robert Morris and Western Illinois, neither of which was very competitive, Stirtz played nearly the full game. When he is playing, he is producing. The 6-4 Drake transfer has put up 21.5 points, 6.5 assists, and 3.0 steals. Xavier comes to Iowa City after getting torched by Santa Clara at home. Look for Stirtz to take advantage of a Musketeer team that is still trying to figure itself out and pop for another big game.
Nick Martinelli, F, Northwestern ($8,800)
Martinelli has opened the season on fire. The rare player who has stayed at the same school for four years is converting 58.8 percent of his field goals and an insane 83.3 percent of his 3-pointers (5-of-6). The Wildcat schedule has not been difficult, but the 6-7 senior has been able to produce even when his minutes are limited (21 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes in the win over Cleveland State on Monday). When Northwestern beat DePaul by 20 last year, Martinelli put up 23 points and four boards.
Yaxel Lendeborg, F, Michigan ($8,500)
Staying in the Big Ten, the price will never be better for Lendeborg. He has been disappointing after averaging double-doubles in the previous two seasons with UAB. The 6-9 senior seems to have ceded paint opportunities to Aday Mara ($9,800), but it may be that has been somewhat slowed by the hand injury that caused him to come off the bench in the opener. As Lendeborg gets healthier, the forward may returned to UAB-levels of productivity, and the game against TCU is a good opportunity to show off what he can do at a reasonable salary.
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Middle Tier
Riley Kugel, G, UCF ($6,900)
The Knights are averaging 90.7 points per game, and Kugel is their leading scorer. The 6-5 guard transferred in from Mississippi State and is making the most of his first opportunity to be a full-time starter. Kugel is hitting half of his field goals attempts and 70.6 percent of his 3-pointers. While that type of marksmanship is unsustainable, it may cause the Texas A&M defenders to gravitate to the 3-point line and open some driving lanes for Kugel. He adds 3.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 steals to make him a decent mid-range buy.
Blue Cain, G, Georgia ($6,700)
Like many teams, the Bulldogs face their first Power 5 foe on Friday with the intrastate battle against Georgia Tech. Cain has been productive in 22 minutes in each game against overmatched competition. He is averaging 15.0 points and 4.3 rebounds, despite the limited minutes. The 6-5 guard started 33 games for Georgia last season and had 10 points and six rebounds in the win over the Yellow Jackets a year ago. As his sophomore season continued, Cain became more consistent, and that has followed through on the new campaign.
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Paulius Murauskas, F, St. Mary's ($5,700)
Like Lendeborg, more was expected from Murauskas based on last year's statistics. The 6-8 junior was expected to fill in the large gaps left by players leaving the Gaels after their successful 2024-25 season. Murauskas has been fine -- 17.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists -- but has yet to have a breakout game. North Texas is coming off a humiliating loss to Oregon State in which the Mean Green led by seven with three minutes remaining and did not score again. The modest price for Murasukas may pay off in a big way.
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College Basketball DFS Value Plays
Jake Wilkins, F, Georgia ($4,900)
Wilkins has been very productive off the Bulldog bench in limited minutes. Through three games of his freshman season, Dominique's son has averaged 14.3 points and 4.0 rebounds in 17.3 minutes. He get a few more minutes against Georgia Tech who have a top-20 defensive efficiency rating, per KenPom. Wilkins has the type of bounce that is hard for any team to counter. If Georgia is able to get out and run, Wilkins -- as you might expect -- is a fantastic finisher.
Dillan Shaw, G/F, St. Mary's ($4,800)
The 6-7 freshman has been productive off the Gael bench. He can fill in a lot of gaps for the team. Although the numbers are modest -- 6.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 1.0 blocks -- they come from all over the boxscore. North Texas is a decent opponent for St. Mary's to match up against, and coach Randy Bennett may need Shaw's athleticism to counter the Mean Green's defensive style of play. Look for an uptick on Shaw's numbers across the board.
Micah Robinson, F, TCU ($3,700)
The Horned Frogs have seven players playing between 15 and 26 minutes. Only point guard Brock Harding ($7,400) is playing more, and he is averaging 4.7 points (to go along with 6.0 assists and 3.3 steals). The 6-8 Robinson has scored in double digits in all three games and had a double-double in the win over St. Francis (PA) last Thursday. He will need to play up against Michigan's size, but he has the type of athleticism that should give him a bump in minutes in the first TCU game against a Power 5 conference opponent.
