This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
College Basketball DFS: Picks for Friday's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16
We're seeing a little bit of a pullback from DraftKings, as Friday's main slate has a $20,000 first-place prize and $75,000 total pot.
Friday's slate is an odd one when compared to Thursday. The scoring is lower across the board, there's arguably not a clear and obvious game to target/stack, and the pricing is marginally higher at the top end. Auburn - Michigan is the highest scoring expectancy on the slate, predictably featuring three of the slate's five-highest priced players. I'm leaning towards taking middle-tier shares there and higher-end options elsewhere, but lets see how this breaks down.
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College Basketball DFS Top Players
Vladislav Goldin, F, Michigan ($8,800)
For better or worse, I feel we need to pay up for an arguably overpriced forward, and Goldin gets the nod as the cheapest of the three options. He's actually been pretty consistent of late, topping 30 DKP in seven of his last nine, and 40+ in five of those, but the floor has also been a meager 17.75 points. I have no idea how Auburn is going to defend here; Johni Broome is going to match up with Goldin or Danny Wolf, and their could be some switching. Whomever benefits from the mismatch is going to feast. Pick your poison.
Zakai Zeigler, G, Tennessee ($8,600)
We know Kentucky will push pace, and Tennessee won't, so it's not a must use spot. These two played twice in season with varying results, seeing 151 points and 139 points scored. Zeigler, however, was consistent, putting up 29.25 and 31.0 DKP. That's far from elite at this price, but it's a stable building block. Zeigler has averaged 36.5 minutes across his last four with the stakes high, putting up 17.5 points, 7.5 assists and 2.3 steals.
L.J. Cryer, G, Houston ($7,600)
Not in love with the price rising $1,100 from last weekend, but Cryer is the safest bet from the Cougars, and we can stick with the guards in March theme at a still reasonable number. He's taken double-digit shots in each of his last eight games, averaging 19.1 points and a 26.0 usage rate. The downside is he does little else, posting 2.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 rebounds. Low ceiling, high floor.
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Middle Tier
Jase Richardson, G, Michigan State ($6,900)
Squeezing in under $7,000, we can slide Richardson into the middle tier and enjoy elite stability even from a deep Spartans team. Over his last six games, Richardson is averaging 30.7 minutes, up from 24.9 in-season, and it's obviously coincided with an uptick in production, now averaging 16.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists. This likely is chalky, but loosely pencil in 30 fantasy points.
Andrew Carr, F, Kentucky ($6,600)
To be frank, I loathe this price. But we likely need shares of the Wildcats attack, and I don't feel confident any anyone else at their price points. Carr hasn't been under 20 DKP in seven straight, but he's topped 26.0 fantasy points only twice, averaging 12.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.6 assists 1.3 steals and blocks. These picks are rapidly evolving into a safe, cash game lineup that could pay dividends in a GPP format given the slate's lower scoring expectancy. Carr's game logs against Tennessee are ignorable, as he wasn't healthy.
Matthew Murrell, G, Mississippi ($5,400)
We're essentially paying for minutes here, as Murrell averaged 30.1 on the season and 31.5 over the last eight. He's scored in double-figures in five of those, so there's ample inconsistency, but minutes equal production in some capacity. He'll have a handful of rebounds, at least a steal and an assist, and if he reaches 12+ points, we'll get a fair return.
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College Basketball DFS Bargain Options
Dre Davis, G, Mississippi ($4,600)
I think Auburn's cheap backcourt is going to be chalky, and I find Denver Jones ($4,700) to be atop that chalk. Use him freely, perhaps even pair him with Davis. But if we want a different low-end option, this guard profiles well. Over his last 15 games, Davis has averaged 11.3 points and 4.9 rebounds across 25.9 minutes. He's had more games (three) with over 30 fantasy points than he's had under 10 (two). Thats a nice gamble for cheap.
Chaney Johnson, F, Auburn ($4,200)
Johnson is cheap "in" to the anticipated highest scoring team Friday. Johnson has seen 25 or more minutes in three of his last four, and had at least seven rebounds at the same ratio. If he reaches that, we're already at a 2x return, and if he goes north of 20 minutes again, surely he scores six to 10. An easy path to 4x in a game where I think Auburn's wings will exploit Michigan routinely.
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