This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
College Basketball DFS: Picks for Sunday's NCAA Tournament Second Round
Eight games remain on the tournament's opening weekend, as DraftKings again has a $25,000 first-place prize available amongst $75,000 in total winnings in its main slate.
Kentucky - Illinois highlights this one with a massive 169.5-point total, a number that's dropped slightly since Saturday afternoon. Defenseless Alabama is also on the slate in a wild battle of tempo with slow St. Mary's. It's another day where we can build an incredibly deep and balanced lineup, as only five players carry a price tag of $9,000 or greater. And outside of the Ilini-Wildcat game, totals are pretty close to each other and generally higher than Saturday, seemingly putting all teams in consideration for use. My exception is Baylor. I find them to be very undersized against Duke's length, so they're a team I'm personally omitting from this column and my builds.
College Basketball DFS Top Players
Cooper Flagg, G/F, Duke ($9,000)
Flagg is Sunday's ultimate conundrum. He's priced down, he clearly wasn't limited Friday, and as a result, everyone is going to roster him. My two cents; build your lineup without him at the middle and low end, be consistent and comfortable with that core, and then enter multiple lineups that have Flagg in half of them. Single entry guys, which I'm one of, fade him only because we have to be different.
.png)
Augustas Marciulionis, G, St. Mary's ($7,900)
Over his last four games, Marciulionis has averaged 16.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists across 35.8 minutes. He played a low of 31 minutes Friday only due to foul issues. He's going to be on the court as much as possible in a game where the Gaels will at least be forced to run up and down some. His ability to contribute across the board gives him a high ceiling if the game shoots out, and a stable floor if played slower than the Tide want.
Otega Oweh, G, Kentucky ($7,800)
This is simply a game we must invest in, yet somehow Oweh's price is down. Illinois is 17th in tempo, per KenPom, and Kentucky 24th, giving us the slate's highest scoring total by a good bit. I assume this is going to be a very popular play, so it's one where I'm more content to roll with the masses than be different and pivot to someone like Julian Reese ($7,700) or teammate Amari Williams ($7,600) just to be different. There's more risk in not using Oweh and him having an off game than there is in chasing upside from some else.
Agree with these recommendations? Give them a spin in the RotoWire College Basketball DFS Lineup Optimizer.
Middle Tier
Tomislav Ivisic, F, Illinois ($6,700)
The pricing Sunday is so down, and this game is such a obvious one to target, I think we're going to see a lot of game stacks here. Illinois plays its starting five profusely, and none are priced above $7,300. Ivisic is very volatile, just look at his game log from the last five, but he's got a ceiling that's high enough to better this price.
Mouhamed Dioubate, F, Alabama ($6,000)
Dioubate is off consecutive double-doubles, and has gone for at least 29 DKP in three straight. He doesn't play a huge amount of minutes, as the Tide rotate their forwards pretty heavily, but with Grant Nelson and Jarin Stevenson at less than 100 percent, Dioubate can continue his hot form with 20-25 minutes. He's a high ceiling option that I expect won't be heavily rostered.
Will Richard, G, Florida ($5,900)
Richard has been priced as high as $8,000 in season, so the appeal is the tremendous discount that says he's got high a ceiling to far outperform the price. Do I really think he has 30+ DKP potential here? Probably not, but the Gators come with an 80 point expectancy, and we can feel confident in Richard's minutes, averaging 30.8 over his last eight games. Failing to return 4x at a sub 6k price would surprise.
Monitor usage rates and other recent trends to identify ideal DFS selections on our advanced college basketball lineups page.
Bargain Options
Trey Townsend, F, Arizona ($4,400)
Townsend has started four straight, and outside of an eight minute game against Houston, he's played 23 in the other three, taking eight shots in each and never failing to return 18.75 DKP. A narrow spread suggests both sides will rely heavily on their cores, giving us a cheap frontcourt option that can safely provide 3.5x as a result.
Coen Carr, F, Michigan State ($4,400)
The Spartans are expected to score 78 points Sunday, but they're one of the toughest teams for DFS purposes, as they're deep and rotate with frequency. Still, Carr's game logs suggest he'll see just as many minutes as Townsend, and has a 2.5x floor with arguably a higher ceiling. Simply a low end roster filler for builds that isn't likely to bomb out.
Samson Johnson, F, Connecticut ($4,000)
If we believe guard play is what wins in March, then Johnson gives us a third punt play at forward with some upside, some floor and is in a matchup where the Huskies likely need his size against Florida's depth of big bodies. He's bettered a 4x return in four of his last five with a 7.5x ceiling. Fouls are a concern, resulting in lower minutes, but it's built in to the price. We'll rely on rebounds and blocks, and anything Johnson gives in terms of scoring is a bonus.
Take advantage of the best March Madness betting promos to maximize your potential earnings in the 2025 NCAA Tournament.
