This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
It's the final Saturday in January as we slowly make our way toward March Madness. We have a full slate Saturday, and we'll focus on evening games and West Coast action to give you time to get your lineups set. We may have jinxed UCLA's Tyler Bilodeau on Friday as he rolled his ankle three minutes into the game at Washington and was held scoreless.
If you're unfamiliar how to play, you must simply choose at least two players from any sport and pick more or less on their projected statistics to win. We'll obviously be exclusively selecting college hoops players, but you can mix and match from various other sports. You can also go with a flex play, meaning you still can have a winning night even if you have one losing selection. Or, you can go big and choose the power play, which pays out higher. However, you must hit all ends to win. Let's get started.
Austin Rapp, F, Portland
The Portland Pilots host the ranked Gonzaga Bulldogs in a West Coast Conference (WCC) battle in the Rose City as decisive underdogs.
This isn't the best Gonzaga team - at least defensively - but they can certainly score with the best of them averaging 88.4 PPG while hitting 49.3 percent from the field. Rapp will be tasked with trying to help the Pilots keep up, though it's extremely unlikely the 7-win Pilots will be able to.
Rapp was able to produce 17 points with eight boards against San Diego last time out, yet we only need to look to the first head-to-head from Jan. 2 where Gonzaga won 81-50 while he only hit 2-of-8 from the field and finished with six points, four boards and four turnovers. Expect more of the same.
CBB PrizePicks Selection: Austin Rapp, Under 21 Pts+Rebs
Mitchell Saxen, C, Saint Mary's
The Gaels' 6-foot-10 senior center will lead the team against Washington State in a WCC battle. And Saxen should be up for playing against the team from his native state.
He does a few things well by scoring and regularly being a force on the glass having picked up four double-doubles since Dec. 3, including 15 points and 12 rebounds at San Diego two weeks ago. Over the last three outings, Saxen is averaging 14.0 PPG while pulling down 7.3 RPG. He's also reached double-digit boards from five of seven.
Washington State isn't great defensively having allowed 75.8 PPG - ranking 291st in the nation - while opponents have gone 43.5 percent from the field and 31.5 from behind the arc. Look for Saxen and his Gaels' teammates to get loose.
CBB PrizePicks Selection: Mitchell Saxen, Over 20 Pts+Rebs
Egor Demin, G, BYU
Demin has been getting plenty of regular playing time for the Cougars and has been fairly consistent of late, at least statistically. The Russian freshman has been good for eight or more points in each of the last five matchups, yet has struggled with his shot.
Demin has missed more attempts than he's made over nine of 10 games. He pulled it together Tuesday at Colorado by going 4-of-7 from the field and ending up with eight points, seven assists and four steals across 28 minutes.
Demin is going to have a tough time against Cincinnati's suffocating defense that ranks 10th in the country with only 61.7 PPG against with teams only hitting 39.1 percent. The Bearcats also sit sixth overall by only conceding 28.0 percent from deep.
CBB PrizePicks Selection: Egor Demin, Under 9.5 Points
Saturday's College Basketball PrizePicks Selections
Here's a recap of my best college basketball selections for Saturday:
- Austin Rapp, Portland, Under 21 Pts+Rebs
- Mitchell Saxen, Saint Mary's, Over 20 Pts+Rebs
- Egor Demin, BYU, Under 9.5 Points
For additional recommendations for PrizePicks and other similar sites, check out our College Basketball Picks page.
For more fantasy college hoops content, be sure to check out features like our college basketball injury report, college basketball depth charts and latest college basketball news.
