Regular Fridays during the college basketball season are typically duds from a DFS standpoint. We might might get a couple A-10 games, but that's usually about it. But this is opening week, and FanDuel has a respectable six-game slate filled with plenty of Power 5 talent. Let's go ahead and take a look.
Note: Moneylines and over/unders were unavailable at the time of posting. DraftKings will have contests too in all likelihood, and I'll try to update soon after they are live. Hopefully, much of the same analysis applies in the meantime.
Friday Update: Added moneylines, over/unders & DraftKings salaries. DK also had four games that were not on the FanDuel slate, so my thoughts on those are below.
Stanford (-4.5) @ UNC-Wilmington, o/u 159.5, 7 p.m. EST (FanDuel only)
It's understandable for newer DFS players to shy away from mid-majors, but I like UNC-WIlmington's Devontae Cacok ($8,400 FD) here when it comes to high-priced options on the slate. Harper is overpriced after a big opening night. Ahmad is good but not exceptional. Waters could be limited by a slow-paced game. In steps Cacok, who averaged 18.9 points and 15.8 rebounds at home last season. He does have to deal with seven-footer Josh Sharma and is a bit of a foul trouble risk (he fouled out opening night), but there's a ton of GPP upside here. Ty Taylor ($8,100 FD) did have 29 and 8 on opening night, so he could be in play as well -- and doesn't come
Regular Fridays during the college basketball season are typically duds from a DFS standpoint. We might might get a couple A-10 games, but that's usually about it. But this is opening week, and FanDuel has a respectable six-game slate filled with plenty of Power 5 talent. Let's go ahead and take a look.
Note: Moneylines and over/unders were unavailable at the time of posting. DraftKings will have contests too in all likelihood, and I'll try to update soon after they are live. Hopefully, much of the same analysis applies in the meantime.
Friday Update: Added moneylines, over/unders & DraftKings salaries. DK also had four games that were not on the FanDuel slate, so my thoughts on those are below.
Stanford (-4.5) @ UNC-Wilmington, o/u 159.5, 7 p.m. EST (FanDuel only)
It's understandable for newer DFS players to shy away from mid-majors, but I like UNC-WIlmington's Devontae Cacok ($8,400 FD) here when it comes to high-priced options on the slate. Harper is overpriced after a big opening night. Ahmad is good but not exceptional. Waters could be limited by a slow-paced game. In steps Cacok, who averaged 18.9 points and 15.8 rebounds at home last season. He does have to deal with seven-footer Josh Sharma and is a bit of a foul trouble risk (he fouled out opening night), but there's a ton of GPP upside here. Ty Taylor ($8,100 FD) did have 29 and 8 on opening night, so he could be in play as well -- and doesn't come with the foul trouble risk. I don't like much on the Stanford side. KZ Okpala ($7,900 FD) had a monster opening night with 29 points and 10 boards, and is priced appropriately as a result. Daejon Davis ($7,000) is an OK play, but provides mostly scoring and little else.
Missouri @ Iowa State (-6), o/u 142, 7 p.m. EST (FanDuel only)
Iowa State isn't necessarily the fast-tempo DFS target they once were, but there are some situations to take advantage of on both sides. Both Cameron Lard & Zoran Talley are suspended for the foreseeable future, which means freshman Talen Horton-Tucker ($4,700 FD) and Michael Jacobson ($6,000 FD) will get additional opportunities. Most know about Nick Weiler-Babb ($7,100 FD) and Lindell Wigginton ($6,900 FD), who are both viable cash game plays. It's just tough choosing between the two, and neither had particularly great lines in the opener. For Missouri, Kevin Puryear ($6,400 FD) struggled with his shot in the opener, but he's my pick over the higher-priced Jeremiah Tilmon ($7,500 FD). Puryear is in his fourth year with the program, and should pick up the statistics left behind by Jontay Porter (ACL). The standout play here, though, is Illinois transfer Mark Smith ($5,500). He was granted a waiver to play this year, and put up an impressive 33.5 Fanduel points in the opener, due mostly to 19 points and 10 boards.
Edit: Lindell Wigginton suffered a strained foot in practice, which makes Nick Weiler-Babb a prime play across all formats Friday night.
Arkansas @ Texas (-6), o/u 150, 7 p.m. EST
Arkansas loses its entire backcourt from a season ago, so it makes sense that center Daniel Gafford ($8,000 FD, $8,700 DK) is their highest-priced option by a mile. The guy I'm targeting as possibly one of the best plays on the slate is Isaiah Joe ($3,200 FD, $5,600 DK), who is mispriced by a mile on FanDuel. He started both Arkansas exhibitions, played 26 or more minutes and got nine shots up in each for a combined 37 total points. Texas is tougher to trust because Shaka Smart went nine-deep in the opener, with seven players seeing 20 or more minutes. Neither the Arkansas pace or matchup is anything to write home about, and while Matt Coleman ($7,300 FD, $6,900 DK), Kerwin Roach ($6,700 FD, $5,900 DK) and Dylan Osetkowski ($6,700 FD, $6,200 DK) are fine players, none scream "value." Of the three, I'd lean towards Roach, who should be plenty motivated after returning from suspension.
UNC-Greensboro @ LSU (-10), o/u 143.5, 8:30 p.m. EST
I'm not entirely sure how FanDuel landed on this one over some other SEC teams in action, but here we are nonetheless. UNC-Greensboro plays at one of the slowest paces in the country, and while I love the prospects of Tremont Waters ($8,200 FD, $8,300 DK) this season, he's tough at that price tag. The one play that jumps out at me, even in this matchup, is freshman Naz Reid ($6,500 FD, $7,100 DK). He eclipsed 30 Fanduel points in the opener, and should pad his stats with tip-ins Friday night, as UNC Greensboro is quite generous to their opponents on the offensive glass. There's not a ton to look on the Greensboro side -- Alonso is their top scorer, but priced appropriately at $7400 ($6,400 DK). Kyrin Galloway ($5,900 FD, $4,200 DK) could be in play, moreso on the DraftKings side. Galloway had 9 points and 9 boards in the opener against North Carolina A&T, but it's the usage (started, played 29 minutes) that is encouraging.
Buffalo @ West Virginia (-11), o/u 155.5. 9 p.m. EST
Bob Huggins runs a rotation that can go 10-deep or greater to keep up his constant press, which has made West Virginia historically difficult to trust from a DFS standpoint. Sure, Jevon Carter provided consistent DFS value back in the 2015-16 season (don't forget the foul-trouble heavy rec specs of Devin Williams for GPPs back then), but this year's team does not have a player like Carter. Yet, somebody has to pick up the 17.3 ppg he leaves behind. James Bolden ($5,600 FD, $5,300 DK) is their most expensive guard and will be a big part of their plans this year, but he'll be a game-time call with a hand injury. Chase Harler ($4500 FD, $3,500 DK) started their exhibition game and scored 10 points over 34 minutes, and he seems like the salary-relief option if Bolden doesn't go. Also look at Brandon Knapper ($3,400 FD, $6,100 DK) for the same purposes, but on DraftKings only. A knee injury seems to be dragging down Sagaba Konate ($7.700 FD, $9,000 DK) a little bit, which makes Esa Ahmad ($8,300 FD, $7,400 DK) pretty attractive if you can afford it. C.J. Massinburg ($7,000 FD, $6,000 DK) is worth the longest look on the Buffalo side. Sure, it's the toughest defense he'll play all year, but he saw an exceptional defensive team in Cincinnati during non-conference play in 2017-18 and managed to put up 29 points and 10 boards in that outing.
Washington @ Auburn (-10), o/u 150.5, 9:30 p.m. EST
Auburn was responsible for GPP winners on opening night, but I think the pricing may have overreacted a bit. After Harper's huge outing (20 points, 13 assists, five rebounds), he's all the way up at $8,600 (also $8,600 on DraftKings), while Bryce Brown sits at a mere $5,900 ($6,700 DK). Give me the latter, who I firmly believe will finish the year with superior stats. Chuma Okeke ($7,800 FD, $7,300 DK) was the big winner with Austin Wiley (foot) out, but there's "a chance" Wiley ($5,300 FD, $4,800 DK) returns. If that happens, Okeke is a firm fade for me. On the Washington side, there will be plenty of possessions with Auburn ranking No. 21 nationally in KenPom's adjusted tempo. Matisse Thybulle ($6,900 FD, $8,500 DK) had 29.2 FanDuel points in the opener despite scoring just nine points, so he's in play for me, even after the price increase. It's a little high for me on DraftKings, but that price tag helps illustrate he may be underpriced on FanDuel. Noah Dickerson ($6,800 FD, $8,100 DK) had a productive opening night and should have another good line, especially if Wiley is out.
DraftKings Addition:
Southern Illinois @ Kentucky (-18), o/u 148.5, 7 p.m. EST
The standout Kentucky players are catching up in price. Reid Travis ($8,400 DK) jumped up $1,600 from opening night, but he remains one of the safer bets if you want to get a piece of this game. Keldon Johnson ($6,800) was the only true capable scorer against Duke, and should be right up there with Travis for the team lead in scoring at the end of the year. Tyler Herro ($5,900) finished with 36.75 DraftKings points on opening night, despite shooting just 4-for-11 from the field. He's a GPP play for me, because there will be cold shooting nights to go along with his big ones, though I expect he's not too far off from a 25-30-point effort. I'm not big on the Southern Illinois side with Kentucky undoubtedly in line to put up a better defensive effort, but Kavion Pippen ($5,000 DK), nephew of Scottie Pippen, is worth a mention. The 6-10 senior averaged 12.1 points and 5.9 boards last season, and has GPP upside if he stays out of foul trouble.
Louisiana @ Tennessee (-16.5), o/u 150, 7 p.m. EST
With Lamonte Turner (shoulder) doubtful, Jordan Bone ($5,300 DK) and Jordan Bowden ($5,600) both get a boost. It's Grant Williams ($8,800 DK) with the highest ceiling, however, as he's most capable of all-around production. During non-conference play in 2017-18, he averaged 15.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.6 blocks. Louisiana's top-40 pace nationwide (per KenPom) also sets the Vols on a path to hit value, even in a blowout. While a case can be made for Jakeenan Grant ($6,300 DK) on the Louisiana side, Tennessee's slow pace and No. 7-ranking in defensive efficiency (per KenPom) will cause me to pass over the Ragin' Cajuns' options.
North Carolina (-18) @ Elon, o/u 150.5, 7 p.m. EST
Luke Maye ($10,300 DK) is the highest-priced player on the slate, but I think there are enough value plays out there to work him in if you can. Elon checks in at No. 237 nationally in defensive efficiency, per KenPom, so most UNC players are worth a look. The biggest risk to their fantasy upside is the blowout potential. A potential value play is Garrison Brooks ($4,600 DK), who had 20 points and five rebounds when starting over Nassir Little ($6,500 DK) on opening night. Tyler Seibring ($6,600) has the best statistical upside for Elon, but I'm fading him, even at that price. This will be the toughest matchup he has all year. For perspective, had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists when Elon traveled to Duke in his junior season.
UC Irvine @ Texas A&M (-5.5), o/u 146.5, 9:30 p.m. EST
The status of Admon Gilder (hamstring) will set the pace for the level of A&M exposure I'm comfortable with. If he's in, he's a little too risky for me at $9,200, and the ancillary options all get downgraded. If he's out, both T.J. Starks ($8,000 DK) and Savion Flagg ($7,600) are both in play, even after major price hikes. On the UC-Irvine side, the team ran 11-deep on opening night, which limits the ceilings of most options. Tommy Rutherford ($4,700 DK) isn't bad for salary relief and has some double-double upside, as he recorded five in his sophomore season.
