This article is part of our DraftKings College Basketball series.
Welcome to another Saturday of college basketball at DraftKings. Your total available salary is $50,000 to build your best squad of eight players, which includes three guards, three forwards and two FLEX. Points are awarded on DraftKings as follows:
Point = +1 point PT
Made 3PT shot = +0.5 PTs
Rebound = +1.25 PTs
Assist = +1.5 PTs
Double-Double = +1.5 PTs
Triple-Double= +3 PTs
With that out of the way, here are the available GPP contests for college basketball this Saturday:
$20K MEGA Full Court Press ($2,500 first prize), Entry Fee: $27
$15K Buzzer Beater ($750 first prize), Entry Fee: $2
$15K MEGA Bank Shot ($3,000 first prize), Entry Fee: $200
$7.5K Full Court Press ($1,300 first prize), Entry Fee: $27
$5K Buzzer Beater ($500 first prize), Entry Fee: $2
$5K Bank Shot ($2,000 first prize), Entry Fee: $200
and many more…
There are three sets of contest times with included games:
12pm – 3pm Eastern
Ohio State at Michigan State
North Carolina at Pittsburgh
Virginia Tech at Clemson
St. John's at Xavier
Baylor at Kansas
Marquette at Creighton
Auburn at Georgia
South Carolina at Kentucky
VCU at George Washington
Florida State at Georgia Tech
Wake Forest at Virginia
Oregon at UCLA
4pm-6:30pm
LSU at Tennessee
Mississippi State at Missouri
NC State at Louisville
Seton Hall at Providence
West Virginia at Iowa State
Oregon State at USC
Duke at Syracuse
Oklahoma State at TCU
Villanova at Butler
Florida at Texas A&M
8pm-9pm
Oklahoma at Kansas State
Pepperdine at Gonzaga
Texas Tech at Texas
Vanderbilt at Alabama
Maryland at Penn State
Arkansas at Ole Miss
UConn at SMU
Valentine's Day basketball is upon us, an with the NBA in the All-Star break, college basketball takes center stage. March is just a few weeks away and many teams are clawing for a spot in the Big Dance. Some teams are solidly in, fighting for the top seeds and conference championships, while others are on the bubble with every game of extreme importance, while others may not be in the Big Dance discussion but can still spoil the hopes and dreams of their compatriots.
Defenses to avoid:
Virginia Tech at Clemson: ACC opponents are scoring 10 percent fewer points than their scoring average against the Tigers, and they'll will look to continue the defensive dominance against the undersized Hokies.
South Carolina at Kentucky: It almost goes without saying, but nonetheless, the country's top team has a stifling defense and should be avoided unless you feel the need to take a chance on a cheap three-point shooter – arguably their only weakness.
Florida State at Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets may be flirting with the cellar in the ACC, but they are unlucky to be doing so with a number of very close calls. They have a deep frontcourt that rebounds very well and should do well against the undersized Seminoles.
Wake Forest at Virginia: The Cavaliers are once again No. 2 in the country, and they do it because of their discipline and excellent defense. ACC teams are averaging over twenty percent fewer points than their average against the Cavaliers. Wake Forest will be no different.
Oregon State at USC: The Trojans are young and turnover prone. The Beavers put you to sleep with their pace, but they are very effective in doing so and should give the bottom-dwelling Trojans more trouble than they'll be able to cope with.
Oklahoma State at TCU: TCU plays reasonably good defense, despite being last in the Big 12, but their offense is stagnant against an OK State defense that has been playing extremely well with consecutive wins over Texas, Kansas and Baylor.
Connecticut at SMU: Both teams are top twenty-five defenses in points allowed with tremendous interior defensive threats, and both teams will look for their starting guards to lead the way in production.
Offense to use:
North Carolina at Pittsburgh: Both teams are allowing teams to score five percent more than their average in ACC play. North Carolina has depth, especially in their frontcourt, which is good because they have a great propensity to foul. Expect this to be a fairly high paced game with North Carolina having the advantage on the boards while their bigs hope to avoid foul trouble.
St. John's at Xavier: St. John's allows the most points per game of any team in the Big East. This is in good part due to their quick pace, but is also a result of them being an undersized guard-heavy squad. Xavier has a number of players at discount prices that could do very good things against the St. John's defense.
Auburn at Georgia: Auburn plays sincerely terrible defense, a fact that the Bulldogs would do well to exploit. Georgia is one of the teams fighting for the best of the rest in the SEC, and they will look to run up some impressive stats against a Tigers squad that is very poor on the road.
West Virginia at Iowa State: West Virginia is the most foul-prone team in all of Division 1 basketball, something that creates opportunities to stop the clock and, for those teams that make their free-throws, to capitalize. Iowa State, like a kid with too much sugar, is hyperactive in their running and gunning. This should be a fun game to watch, with lots of points, and we'll see how West Virginia's depth matches up with Iowa State's explosiveness.
Duke at Syracuse: Duke is of course the better of the teams, but they do have similarities in that they play with enough pace and have very short benches. Fouls will be avoided in this matchup between two of the best big men in America in Rakeem Christmas and Jahlil Okafor. Duke has weapons outside of Okafor, Syracuse really needs Christmas to play to the best of abilities and shut-down Okafor in the process.
Arkansas at Ole Miss: Two of the SEC's top squads will face off in the fight for second. Both teams like to run it and in unison should result in a very high scoring affair.
Guards:
Cameron Wright, Pittsburgh, $4,600
The Panthers' team captain has had a fair share of health issues this season and missed their last game with an ankle sprain. He looks likely to be back in the lineup against the Tar Heels and stands as a great value that's $900 cheaper than he was at the beginning of the month.
Justin Jackson, North Carolina, $5,200
Long and lean, Jackson is a versatile player with tremendous athleticism and the ability to build up stats in every category. Once his jump shots start falling with any consistency, he will be a tremendous fantasy threat. In the lead up, he's a worthy gamble at $5200.
J.P. Macura, Xavier, $3,200
Macura, a freshman, has struggled to break his way onto the floor all season, but it appears he has finally done so. Getting more than 20 minutes in each of his last two outings, minutes formerly belonging to teammate Remy Abell, Macura has scored in double figures to game in a row. He certainly isn't guaranteed great minutes, but he's been performing well enough to deserve them. His teammates Dee Davis ($5,900) and Myles Davis ($6,200) are good plays at guard position as well.
Kenny Gaines, Georgia, $5200
Gaines will look to continue is his recent upward trend in production against a poor Aubrun defense. Teammate Charles Mann, $7000 is a decent play for similar reasons.
The status of Treveon Graham (VCU, $7,300), who is dealing with a ankle injury, is up in the air. Teammate Briante Weber is already out for the season due to injury, and the complementary casts from both teams will benefit in fantasy production. George Washington is led by Kethan Savage ($6,500) and Joe McDonald ($6,400), while VCU will go with some combination of Jequan Lewis ($5,700), Melvin Johnson ($5,400), Jordan Burgess ($4,400) and Terry Larrier ($3.700). Graham's status will boost or take away from the production of everyone due to his offensive and defensive prowess.
Virginia guards Malcolm Brogdon ($7,000) and London Perrantes ($5,500) have larger roles for their Cavaliers squad after the injury of teammate Justin Anderson and get a favorable matchup with a defensively poor Wake Forest squad.
Louisville guards Terry Rozier ($9,300) and Chris Jones ($7,600) have taken the majority of Louisville's scoring load on their shoulders – a trend that looks to continue against a fast pace NC State side.
Malcolm Duvivier, Oregon State, $5,500
Duvivier is a solid scorer on a slow-pace Oregon State team. He gets big minutes, and is fairly reliable to get his fair share, especially against a poor USC side.
Duke and Syracuse presents an interesting matchup. If Cuse has any hope of keeping the game tight, Trevor Cooney ($7,200) will have a large part of the production on his shoulders. He shoots a lot, and if he can convert he's dangerous to score lots of points. If Quinn Cook ($7,300) has a good day scoring, you can bet Tyus Jones ($7,700) will, as he'll be the one delivering him sweet dimes. Jones is the more talented of the two and puts up stats in every category.
Isaiah Taylor, Texas, $7,900
He doesn't come cheaply, but he wont get an easier matchup in the Big 12 than Texas Tech and will look to put up big numbers in both points and assists.
Anton Beard, Arkansas, $4,200
Beard is a guard value play in a game that should see tremendous offense. He should get his share of the action at the low price of $4,200.
Forwards:
Cliff Alexander, Kansas, $4,500
Alexander finally finds himself in the Jayhawks' starting lineup. He's still fighting for a full slate of minutes, but his undoubted talent level and post presence will be dearly needed against the oversized Baylor Bears. The matchup itself is tough, but this is the reason Alexander will likely get the minutes needed to show his stuff.
The Pittsburgh and North Carolina game gives a great selection of frontcourt options. Pittsburgh plays Jamel Artis ($8,400), Michael Young ($7,200) and Sheldon Jeter ($3,700), while North Carolina counters with Brice Johnson ($7,600), Kennedy Meeks ($5,700) and J.P. Tokoto ($5,500). Jeter of Pitt and Tokoto of UNC provide the best value for each, and get to avoid the fight in the paint between the higher-priced players.
Clemson's Jaron Blossomgame ($7,000) and Dante Grantham ($5,000) both played very well against the Fighting Irish midweek, and they will look to take advantage of the undersized Hokies on Saturday. Blossomgame, especially, will look to pull down lots of rebounds and generally own the paint.
Jalen Reynolds, Xavier, $6,000
Reynolds has been a revelation at times for Xavier, but he also has an inclination to foul. If he can stay clean of foul trouble, Reynolds looks very capable of taking advantage of the undersized St. John's squad.
Similarly to the guard counterparts, the Virginia frontcourt will look to boost offensive production in the absence of Justin Anderson. Against a poor Wake Forest, Anthony Gill ($6,000), Darion Atkins ($5,000), and Mike Tobey ($4,700) all have the opportunity to step up.
Tony Parker, UCLA, $5,600
Parker seems to finally be back to a full bill of health and poised to be a serious interior threat against the run-and-gun Oregon Ducks.
Jameel McKay, Iowa State, $5,400
McKay has been a great midseason addition for the Cyclones. He fits extremely well into their run-style offense, picking up good production in points and rebounds. I've already noted the high-scoring to be expected in this game with the Mountaineers, and McKay fits right into that.
Devin Williams, West Virginia, $5,800
Williams posted over 40 fantasy points last weekend at a price $300 higher. In a game where many shots look to be had, he will look to both take and receive them in the form of a healthy rebound line.
B.J. Johnson, Syracuse, $3,000
He was able to capitalize on teammate Tyler Roberson ($6,300) being put in the doghouse last time out, and while it's not entirely clear how the playing time split will break down, anything close to what we saw last time could mean big things for Johnson at the minimum price.
Sebastian Saiz, Ole Miss, $4,500
As long as Saiz stays away from foul trouble, he could be in for a big day. The game will be fast paced, with lots of fantasy points to go around, with Saiz looking to get his portion of points and rebounds.
