While we've had a busy Feast Week overall, Saturday's slate is pretty light. DraftKings is offering just a $2,000 prize pool in their primary Big Jam tournament, with $500 going to the winner. It includes four games and tips off at 4:00 p.m. EST.
Arizona and Penn State come with the highest implied scoring totals, but neither game is expected to be competitive, so it makes targeting stars a touch risky. LSU-DePaul looks more competitive and stackable as a result. Pricing overall is pretty soft, so for me, it doesn't set up as a slate where we're forced to pay any premiums and also not really dumpster dive for bargains. We should be able to build a very well-rounded lineup.
College Basketball DFS Picks for Saturday, November 29
College Basketball DFS Top Players
Mouhamed Sylla, F, Georgia Tech ($8,000)
Sylla seems risky in a game where scoring will be a challenge, but he's also posted five double-doubles in his first seven games, scoring in double-digits six times and never having less than seven rebounds. He adds shot blocking upside and assuming he can stay out of foul trouble, the close nature of this contest should keep him on the floor for heavy minutes. He's shown 5x upside previously, and on a slate where there's no clear pay up requirement, I'll swing for upside.
Koa Peat, F, Arizona ($6,800)
Picking any Wildcat in this blowout environment is risky, but with a 92.0 point expectancy, someone will produce. The risk comes in the blowout nature (see Jaden Bradley's 16.0 DKP last time out when Arizona scored 103 points). Peat feels underpriced to me, so some of that risk is mitigated. He has a 24.4 percent usage rate over his last five, and seems like a lock for double-digit points and a handful of boards even if the minutes are capped.
Middle Tier
Michael Nwoko, F, LSU ($6,200)
This seems likely to be chalk, but it's a seemingly safe play at a fair price to knock off one of your frontcourt requirements. Nwoko hasn't been under 20.5 DKP this season and has a massive 34.1 percent usage rate over the last five.
Wilguens Exacte, F, Drake ($5,400)
DraftKings has Exacte listed as a forward, while we've got him as a guard, so it unfortunately makes this column insanely frontcourt loaded. Exacte has scored in double-digits in five of seven and he has at least six boards at the same ratio, seemingly making this a very fair mid-tier price, offering stability and a slight ceiling.
Arizona's Brayden Burries ($5,300) seems like the obvious target to bolster your backcourt, but comes with similar concerns as mentioned with Peat/Bradley above.
College Basketball DFS Value Plays
Yann Farell, F, Sacred Heart ($4,500)
I find myself having more interest in the Pioneers lineup than I probably should given the expected blowout defeat. So, I'll temper that some and target an option on the low end to limit bust potential. Farell is averaging 28.2 minutes, and that's the basis of appeal. If he's on the court, he'll produce some at a minimal price, right? Sacred Heart should still flirt with 70-75 points, boosting the floor for Farell.
RJ Smith, G, DePaul ($4,200)
Smith is just a soft entry into a game we likely should be stacking due to expected competitiveness, and I've done a poor job spelling that out in the column. Smith has a minimal floor because he's not an elite scorer, but chips in peripherally to create some fantasy appeal with 20+ minutes likely. Again, we don't have to go heavy bargain shopping on this slate, but if you want to, Smith creates considerable lineup flexibility and is a nice pivot from Arizona's Ivan Kharchenkov ($4,100), who figures to be incredibly chalky.
