This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
There are 10 games between FanDuel and DraftKings tonight (as of 2:30 p.m. CST), which is quite a bit to break down. To keep things manageable, I picked a few games to target and avoid, plus added some analysis of some of the evening's top plays.
Top Players:
Carsen Edwards ($9,900 DK, $8,700 FD):Tuesday night's slate featured several star players with five-figure salaries in a few cases, but there are really only two big stars to worry about tonight. Edwards may have his toughest matchup all year ahead, but also has the best floor after having never posted less than 33 fantasy points in a contest this season. He's a lock for me on FanDuel, where I expect his ownership to be off the charts. The junior has a high ceiling tonight given that this should only be the second close game he's played all year. In the first (a 83-89 loss to Virginia Tech), Edwards logged 26 points and seven assists.
Isaiah Pineiro ($9,300 DK, $8,900 FD): San Diego has surprisingly been featured multiple times on this year's various DFS slates, so this isn't the first time we've seen Pineiro in action. While Edwards is the ideal candidate for cash games, Pineiro has the higher ceiling, making him an excellent cornerstone for GPP lineups. While has stats have dipped slightly on the road this year, he gets a Ole Miss team that is outside the top-100 in defensive efficiency, and inside the top-100 in tempo (per KenPom). If
There are 10 games between FanDuel and DraftKings tonight (as of 2:30 p.m. CST), which is quite a bit to break down. To keep things manageable, I picked a few games to target and avoid, plus added some analysis of some of the evening's top plays.
Top Players:
Carsen Edwards ($9,900 DK, $8,700 FD):Tuesday night's slate featured several star players with five-figure salaries in a few cases, but there are really only two big stars to worry about tonight. Edwards may have his toughest matchup all year ahead, but also has the best floor after having never posted less than 33 fantasy points in a contest this season. He's a lock for me on FanDuel, where I expect his ownership to be off the charts. The junior has a high ceiling tonight given that this should only be the second close game he's played all year. In the first (a 83-89 loss to Virginia Tech), Edwards logged 26 points and seven assists.
Isaiah Pineiro ($9,300 DK, $8,900 FD): San Diego has surprisingly been featured multiple times on this year's various DFS slates, so this isn't the first time we've seen Pineiro in action. While Edwards is the ideal candidate for cash games, Pineiro has the higher ceiling, making him an excellent cornerstone for GPP lineups. While has stats have dipped slightly on the road this year, he gets a Ole Miss team that is outside the top-100 in defensive efficiency, and inside the top-100 in tempo (per KenPom). If you can find enough value plays your confident in, using them both isn't the worst strategy.
Luke Maye ($8,100 DK, $7,500 FD): There's no question Maye has underperformed this year, but his price has reduced enough to make him a feasible play. While using him as a "captain" in showdown formats might be a tough ask, there's room to work him in as a potential bounce-back candidate in traditional formats. Maye and the Tar Heels hosted Michigan almost exactly one year ago to this day, and in that matchup, the then-junior logged 27 points, six rebounds and three assists. If he's right, Maye could do it again (and also doesn't have Mo Wagner to contend with in the paint).
Games/Teams To Target:
UCLA (-15) @ Hawaii, o/u 150: Unless DraftKings adds a late slate soon, the only place you can get a piece of this action is on FanDuel. The Bruins enter with the day's highest implied point total. Moses Brown ($8,100 FD) only played eight minutes Nov. 23 against UNC due to foul trouble, and that risk isn't going anywhere. But don't forget he averaged 45.2 FanDuel points over UCLA's first three games. Kris Wilkes ($7,000 FD) has that same upside without such a low floor, and will be going in any cash game lineup I make tonight. Need some salary relief? Prince Ali is just $4,500, and he's started every game this year. While he was shut down by UNC & Michigan State, he does have one effort of 29.4 FanDuel points this year, and scored 21 points against another Big West team in UC-Irvine last season at a similar time.
Florida St. (-4.5) vs. Purdue, o/u 148.5: It's the second-highest over/under on both the FanDuel and DraftKings main slates. I already discussed Carsen Edwards in the top portion, but there are a couple frontcourt options worth a look as well. Matt Haarms ($5,800 DK, $5,800 FD) starts at center and should see higher usage than normal in this slate. He was priced at $7,000+ the last time he was in the pool and let down considerably, but the reduction could represent a buy-low opportunity. If you're not with me there, consider Evan Boudreaux ($5,200 DK, $5,500 FD). He has underwhelmed statistically and came off the bench in each game, but in the only tough/close matchup the Boilermakers have had all year against Virginia Tech, the Dartmouth transfer had 18 points and seven boards. He'll come up in a lot of RotoWire optimal lineups because we thought highly of him, and aren't ready to scale back just yet. One Seminoles option I might roll the dice on is Mfiondu Kabengele ($5,300 DK, $5,600 FD). While he doesn't start, he's averaged 11.8 ppg over just 18.7 mpg. When he's on the court, he leads the team in usage and shot percentage, and could get more run Wednesday in an attempt to contain the big bodies in the Purdue frontcourt. If you can work in Terrence Mann ($7,000 DK, $6,900 FD), it's not a bad option either. He leads the team in minutes percentage and offensive rating.
Creighton (-6.5) vs. Montana, o/u 154: With no UCLA game (yet), this is the highest over/under game on the DraftKings slate, and one casual fans might stay away from. But, I will almost guarantee the winning lineups have a piece of this contest. On the Creighton side, Ty-Shon Alexander ($7,300 DK) gets the most usage and is priced accordingly. Mitch Ballock ($5,900 DK) has been pretty boom-or-bust, but is a decent alternative if you need salary relief. If you asked me before the year who Creighton's best player would be, I wouldn't have hesitated to say Martin Krampelj ($4,600 DK). He's had a very quiet start, but played a season-high 27 minutes Nov. 21 against Clemson. If he finally turns it on, there is tremendous value to be had here. For Montana, Jamar Akoh ($9,000 DK) is out indefinitely with a wrist injury, so that could be a situation to avoid even if he plays. One possible alternative that won't break the bank is Sayeed Pridgett ($5,400 DK). He's started every game, and while he sometimes gets a quick hook, he leads the Grizzlies in both usage and shot percentage.
Games/Teams To Consider Fading:
Virginia (-3.5) @ Maryland, o/u 129.5: Unless you're going with a contrarian strategy, just about any team that plays Virginia at any time during the year is an automatic fade. Currently, KenPom rates them as the second-best defense in the country and they are DEAD LAST among 353 teams in his tempo metric. I'll typically only touch Virginia guys if they get a heavy pace boost, and Maryland sits right in the middle of the pack. That said, De'Andre Hunter ($7,000 DK, $8,500 FD) gets a significant price break on DraftKings and might be in play there at least.
Old Dominion (-3.5) vs. VCU, o/u 127.5: Yes, you read that right. There's a game, only on the DraftKings slate, that has a lower over/under than the game featuring Virginia. To make matters worse, VCU runs a deep rotation featuring 10 different players, eight of which average 20.0 minutes per contest or more. Good luck picking the right one. VCU is also No. 31 in KenPom's defensive efficiency, so even steady scorers like Ahmad Caver ($8,500 DK) and B.J. Stith ($7,500 DK) are probably limited to contrarian options when there are other viable stars in the slate. Stith does have the higher shot percentage at a slightly cheaper price if you do go in that direction, however.
Ohio State (-5.5) vs. Syracuse, o/u 134.5: O'Shae Brissett ($8,000 DK, $8,400 FD) has been pretty hit-or-miss this year, and I think this one's a "miss" with the Buckeyes ranking No. 20 in defensive efficiency and No. 298 in pace. Frank Howard ($6,800, $5,900 FD) made his return to the starting lineup last Wednesday after missing the first four games with an ankle injury, so he's one of the few buy-low options I'd consider on FanDuel. C.J. Jackson ($6,100 DK, $6,600 FD) leads Ohio State in most relevant DFS usage stats, but there's not much of a price break for their primary ball-handler.
