This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
Nine games are on the Wednesday evening DraftKings slate, with a $2k top prize up for grabs in the Big Jam. 16 of the 18 teams featured are from "power" conferences, which means there's plenty of data to go by when selecting both pay-up and value options. Let's jump into the plays...
Top Tier
Armando Bacot, F, North Carolina ($9,400)
UNC/Michigan is the highest over/under matchup on a large, nine-game slate, and UNC has the highest implied total by a sizable margin. Bacot gets a tough matchup against another high-priced big man with a similar ceiling in Hunter Dickinson ($9,800), but there are other factors working in his favor. When the two squared off last season, Bacot put up 40 DK points, while Dickinson scored a season-low 8.8 while being limited by foul trouble. Furthermore, the Wolverines aren't an exceptional rebounding team on the whole, especially on the offensive glass, where they check in at No. 315 in the country in offensive rebounding rate. I'll take the slight cost savings Bacot provides.
Justyn Mutts, F, Virginia Tech ($8,100)
Boston College is playing with a backup center following the injury to Quinten Post (foot), and wasn't the best rebounding team to begin with, checking in at 226 and 105 nationally in offense and defensive rebounding rates, respectively. In steps Mutts, who leads the Hokies in rebounding and fantasy points per game over VT's last five contests, in addition to a 22.4 percent usage rate. With a ceiling in the upper-40s, I'll definitely try to be above the field in exposure to the fifth-year senior.
Middle Tier
Nate Laszewski, F, Notre Dame ($7,500)
Speaking of poor rebounding teams, Florida State checks in at a woeful No. 345 (out of 363 teams) in defensive rebounding rate, largely due to inexperienced, underclassmen manning the five. Who better to take advantage of this matchup than Notre Dame's starting center and leading rebounder? Over the Irish's last five games, Laszewski leads the team in scoring (14.1 ppg), rebounding (7.5 rpg) and FPTS/G (28.2), while checking in at No. 2 in both minutes and usage rate.
Eric Dixon, F, Villanova ($7,200)
Dixon leads the squad in both scoring and rebounding over the last five games, and it just so happens Villanova has won four of those contests to get back up above .500. While St. John's deploys breakout center Joel Soriano ($8,600) to defend the paint, the fact that the Red Storm play at the 10th-fastest tempo in the country means that all Wildcats players get a boost. I'm starting with the player who owns a 26.9 percent usage rate over his last five, but Caleb Daniels ($8,100 - 25.5 percent usage rate) makes for an excellent option as well.
Value Tier
Zane Meeks, F, San Francisco ($4,500)
Meeks has started three of the last four games for the Dons, putting up 25.0, 42.4 and 17.3 DK points in those matchups. San Francisco is a slight home under against a tough ASU defense, but Meeks leads all starter's in usage rate and is third in fantasy ppg (both numbers over the team's last five games). Lock him in at this price point.
Keyon Menifield, G, Washington ($3,700)
With no return date for Noah Williams (knee) in sight, three-star freshman Keyon Menifield has been a strong producer at a bottom-barrel price. Even though he comes off the bench, he's produced 23.8 and 28.8 DK points in his last two. As a starter earlier this season, he has games of 31.0 and 36.0 DK points. While the rest of the game log can be volatile, the path to 4x is easy to see in an up-tempo matchup, despite facing a tough Auburn defense.
If you're looking for a cash-game alternative, check out P.J. Fuller ($4500), who has produced 3x or greater at this price point in each of his last six games, including a 27.5 DK point ceiling during that span.
