DFS College Basketball: Tuesday Slate Preview

Tuesday finally provides college basketball DFS players with decent slate to play that doesn't involves scouring the depth of vastly unknown mid-majors. To make things even better, the main slate is identical on both FanDuel and DraftKings, so that's what we'll focus on here.

Virginia Tech (-3) @ Penn St, o/u 140, 7:00 p.m. EST

There's still nothing new on Chris Clarke ($6,000 DK, $3,000 FD), who remains at minimum price (at least on FanDuel) while serving an indefinite suspension. He'll be an automatic insert when cleared (if he stays at that price), but until then, we have some decisions to make. Kerry Blackshear ($5,900 DK, $5,700 FD) should be a great value play in his place, and the price hasn't caught up yet because he's reached 25 minutes just once due to frequent foul trouble. Both guards are fine plays, but I'm partial to Justin Robinson ($7,000 DK, $7,800 FD) on DraftKings due to the price break. Using him or Nickeil Alexander-Walker ($8,700 DK, $8,500 FD) will come at the cost of players in the top tier, however.

In a similar light as Clarke, we have Mike Watkins ($6,700 DK, $6,000 FD), who has been sitting all year due to personal reasons but will be available Tuesday. It's a little risky to toss him in out of the gates, but remember this is a player responsible for 12.1 PPG and 8.9 RPG a season ago. Watch for starting lineup information, because if his minutes are meaningful, he'll take away from the value of Lamar Stevens ($10,200 DK, $8,700 FD), who has been a scoring and rebounding machine in his absence. Freshman Myles Dread ($5,300 DK, $5,400 FD) has been more consistent than his first-year counterpart Rasir Bolton ($5,200 DK, $5,600 FD), and could be a good buy-low option after scoring under 10 fantasy points his last time out.

Illinois @ Notre Dame (-5.5), o/u 148 7:00 p.m. EST

Both of these teams spread the ball around quite a bit, but one player I like is Ayo Dosunmu ($6,600 DK, $7,500 FD) on DraftKings due to the price break. He only scored six points his last time up, but still had 30+ fantasy points on both sites due to his ability to contribute across the board. Of the Notre Dame options, junior T.J. Gibbs ($5,500 DK, $6,500 FD) seems safe to me, as he's their leading scorer who also checks in tops on the team in shot percentage and minutes percentage.

Michigan State (-5) @ Louisville, o/u 153.5, 7:30 p.m. EST

We have the third-highest over/under on the slate here, and the first question on the table is whether or not to pay up for Cassius Winston ($9,300 DK, $8,000 FD). He's the highest-priced guard on DraftKings, but only fifth-highest on FanDuel, so I'd be more inclined to use him there. While Nick Ward ($7,200 DK, $7,000 FD) is in play with few in the Louisville frontcourt able to match his physicality, it's worth taking a look at Kenny Goins ($5,900 DK, $6,100 FD) for a cheaper price. His minutes are a bit safer than Ward's, and he actually sports a superior defensive rebounding rate. V.J. King ($5,000 DK, $4,800 FD) is a sleeper option on both sites after starting every game and seeing his minutes increase significantly as the matchups got tougher. He offers higher usage and shot rates than the higher-priced Darius Perry ($5,100 DK, $5,000 FD). Jordan Nwora ($7,400 DK, $7,700 FD) has been their best player so far and rose to the challenge in a tough matchup against Tennessee, but I'm not particularly comfortable using him with Ward guarding the basket for a Spartans team that ranks No. 15 in adjusted defensive efficiency.

Nevada (-6.5) @ Loyola-Chicago, o/u 149, 8:00 p.m. EST

Clayton Custer ($6,000 DK, $6,200 FD) leads the Ramblers in shot rate, minutes percentage and percentage of possessions used, making him one of the few viable players on the Loyola-Chicago side in a rotation that can run 8-to-10 deep. While Nevada is typically a team to get heavy exposure to, it's tough to pay up for their high-priced options when they'll be playing a team that ranks No. 40 in KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency, which is the highest they've seen this year by a sizable margin. Not that Jordan Caroline or the Martin twins are out of the question for me, but it's tough to roll heavy with them when other options in their pricing tier face much softer matchups.

Pittsburgh @ Iowa (-13), o/u 154, 9:00 p.m. EST

This is low-key the game to get a piece of Tuesday night. Pittsburgh is 6-0 and has a chance to keep this competitive, but it's Iowa with the second-highest implied point total on the slate after Duke. One way I'll get a piece of that is with veteran point guard Jordan Bohannon ($4,800 DK, $5,500 FD). He was very lackluster in his last two games, but Iowa has been in the DraftKings player pool just once so far this year, and Bohannon awarded owners with 35.5 DK points. He's started every game this year and the team will lean on him when it matters most. The next tough choice here is between Tyler cook ($7,600 DK, $7,100 FD) and Luka Garza ($7,100 DK, $7,400 FD). I prefer the more athletic and versatile Cook, who has seen more run in Iowa's tougher games this year. Pittsburgh gets an under-the-radar tempo boost against Iowa, but I'm not ready to pay full price for most options in their toughest matchup this year. One option I will consider is St. John's transfer Malik Ellison ($5,000 DK, $5,900 FD), who has started every game and boasts a higher minutes percentage than any Panthers player, along with a 20.6 percent shot rate, per KenPom.

North Carolina St. @ Wisconsin (-8), o/u 141. 9 p.m. EST

Ethan Happ ($10,800 DK, $9,000 FD) has a double-double in each game this season and only two efforts below 40 fantasy points (both sites), making him an ideal foundation for cash games. Choosing between him and Zion Williamson ($11,000 DK, $8,900 FD) will be the first decision DFS players have to make. It's possible to use both on FanDuel, but on DraftKings, you would be left with just $4,700 per remaining player. Zion gets the pace boost, but if his matchup against senior Juwan Morgan results in a sub-30 point effort (which can happen), your lineup for the night is essentially over.

Believe it or not, there are players other than Happ in this matchup. While Brad Davison ($4,800 DK, $5,100 FD) is capable of a big game, he's tough to trust after turning in less than 20 fantasy points in four straight. I've failed to mention D'Mitrik Trice ($6,100 DK, $6,900 FD) in several articles this year and paid the price. He's shooting 57.1 percent from beyond the arc and could get hot at any moment.

The entire NC State side is a fade for me, just because they haven't played anyone yet to prepare themselves for the task ahead. Mercer (No. 175 KenPom) was their toughest game so far, and the only won that game by four points. Their next toughest opponent was Saint Peter's (No. 234 KenPom), and everyone else they've played is currently outside the top-300. This is their first appearance in the DFS player pool this season, and I don't think any players have a great chance of hitting value on the road against an experienced Wisconsin team who is limiting opponents to 57.8 PPG.

Temple @ Missouri (-3.5), o/u 134, 9:00 p.m. EST

From a game pace standpoint, this is the matchup to fade, as it enters with the lowest over/under by a sizable margin. Shizz Alston ($8,500 DK, $7,900 FD) wasn't great in Temple's only true road game this year, and this is his toughest opponent in terms of KenPom rating. Nate Pierre-Louis ($6,300 DK, $7,700 FD) gets a nice price break on DraftKings, but that's about the only reason to consider him. I'm still infatuated a bit with Kevin Puryear ($4,600 DK, $5,800 FD), who was once the man for Missouri following the arrival of the Porter brothers on campus. He's still started every game, and while he only had 8.0 DraftKings points his last time out, he was responsible for 26.5 and 29.25 the two games before. As for the rest of Missouri, their scoring is spread out so much than any other play seems like a true gamble.

Indiana @ Duke (-14.5), o/u 159, 9:30 p.m. EST

We're saving the best for last in more ways than one here. Don't trust your high-scoring lineups and contest positioning early, as each tournament will be loaded with players that stack up with players from this game. I already discussed Zion Williamson ($11,000 DK, $8,900 FD) in the Wisconsin section of this preview, as fantasy players must first choose between him and Ethan Happ when starting their lineups. From there, things get tricky. R.J. Barrett ($10,000 DK, $8,600 FD) is the safest option because of his scoring floor, but his price reflects that. He doesn't offer the same ceiling as Zion, but the floor is more consistent. Cam Reddish ($6,300 DK, $7,200 FD) has slowed down considerably since his first two games, and while capable of getting hot, is tough to trust even after the price break. You almost prefer the player with the ball in his hands at this point, which happens to be Tre Jones ($6,200 DK, $6,800 FD). Marques Bolden ($4,700 DK, $5,000 FD) is interesting for GPPs if you go down the list. While less than 15 fantasy PPG isn't encouraging, he was a monster against Auburn with 11 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, so we know what the ceiling is.

Injuries are still an issue for the Hoosiers, with Devonte Green (thigh) and Zach McRoberts (back) game-time calls. Green's minutes are directly related to those of freshman point guard Rob Phinisee ($5,300 DK, $5,600 FD), while McRoberts more closely affects those of Aljami Durham ($5,200 DK, $5,700 FD). Romeo Langford ($8,200 DK, $7,900 FD) is the one with true stud potential, but he's also gone under 30 fantasy points four times this year. Juwan Morgan ($8,600 DK, $8,100 FD) might be the safest Hoosier but is also the highest priced. He's had 50 or more DraftKings points in each of his last two. Justin Smith ($5,100 DK, $5,200 FD) is the other Hoosier to start each game this year, but there's not much there in terms of ceiling. My early builds seem to want to fade Indiana due to the injury uncertainty and tough matchup, but using a player in this game is definitely the preference if you have a difficult tiebreaker decision.