CBB Underdog Best Ball Rankings, Overview and Draft Strategy
After years of waiting, Underdog Fantasy has finally dipped its toes into the college basketball waters with their newest contest 'The Championship Run' -- a $10 buy-in with $10k to first. The 11,160-player field will compete in a best-ball style format for the NCAA Tournament, with drafts consisting of six teams and 10 player rosters. The full rules can be found here.
Rosters: one guard, one wing, one big, two flex, five bench.
Scoring: Point 1.0, Block 3.0, Steal 3.0, Turnover -1.0, Assist 1.5, Rebound 1.2
Round 1: Top two scoring teams from each draft for the Round of 64 and Round of 32 games advance.
Round 2: Advancing teams are randomly assigned into an eight-team league with the top scoring team from the Sweet 16 and Elite 8 games advancing.
Round 3: Advancing teams are randomly assigned into a five-team league with the top scoring team from the Final Four games advancing.
Round 4: The remaining 93 teams will compete for the $10k top prize in the National Championship.
My initial thoughts when analyzing this contest and trying to formulate a sound strategy is that the foundation is around proper team stacking. In order to have a chance to win it all, we're going to need an optimal lineup in the national championship, so we need at least five players from that game and ideally six to give us some margin for error. Thus, I think the ideal team stacking construction will consist of a 4-2-2-2 stack, and there's merit to 3-3-2-2 as well. Position wise, I don't think roster construction matters all that much, but four guards, three wings and three bigs makes plenty of sense. Being a new contest, we obviously have to take some educated guesses here before we can dive into advance rate breakdowns next year.
I believe that Duke, Auburn and Florida are the three most likely teams to make it to the title game, making them the ideal squads to build a four-player team stack around. Granted, if you have a pick outside the top three, you're likely going to have to pivot to Alabama, Houston, Texas Tech or Tennessee.
Getting ready for March Madness? For the latest in the projected field of 68 for 2025 NCAA Tournament, head to the RotoWire Bracketology page.
College Basketball Rankings on Underdog
- Cooper Flagg, Duke
- Johni Broome, Auburn
- Mark Sears, Alabama
- Walter Clayton Jr., Florida
- L.J. Cryer, Houston
- JT Toppin, Texas Tech
- J'Wan Roberts, Houston
- Alex Condon, Florida
- Zakai Zeigler, Tennessee
- Grant Nelson, Alabama
- RJ Luis, St. John's
- Joshua Jefferson, Iowa St.
- Kon Knueppel, Duke
- Chad Baker-Mazara, Auburn
- Derik Queen, Maryland
- Zuby Ejiofor, St. John's
- Will Richard, Florida
- Milos Uzan, Houston
- Khaman Maluach, Duke
- Alijah Martin, Florida
- Chaz Lanier, Tennessee
- Kadary Richmond, St. John's
- Thomas Haugh, Florida
- Braden Smith, Purdue
- Igor Milicic, Tennessee
- Trey Kaufman-Renn, Purdue
- Darrion Williams, Texas Tech
- Chaney Johnson, Auburn
- Hunter Dickinson, Kansas
- Julian Reese, Maryland
- Tyrese Proctor, Duke
- Curtis Jones, Iowa St.
- Danny Wolf, Michigan
- Ian Schieffelin, Clemson
- Wade Taylor, Texas A&M
- Felix Okpara, Tennessee
- Miles Kelly, Auburn
- Keshon Gilbert, Iowa St.
- Clifford Omoruyi, Alabama
- Vladislav Goldin, Michigan
- Sion James, Duke
- John Tonje, Wisconsin
- Ja'Kobi Gillespie, Maryland
- Amari Williams, Kentucky
- Viktor Lakhin, Clemson
- Elijah Hawkins, Texas Tech
- Kam Jones, Marquette
- Graham Ike, Gonzaga
- Richie Saunders, BYU
- Ryan Nembhard, Gonzaga
- John Blackwell, Wisconsin
- Jaeden Zackery, Clemson
- Otega Oweh, Kentucky
- Tamin Lipsey, Iowa St.
- Zhuric Phelps, Texas A&M
- Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
- Keba Keita, BYU
- David Joplin, Marquette
- Dajuan Harris Jr, Kansas
- Denver Jones, Auburn
Draft Review
I drew the second spot for this draft and Broome is an obvious pick at 1.02 with Flagg off the board, and with it comes the strategy of stacking Auburn. They have one of the most efficient offenses in CBB history and as good a chance as anyone to make the National Championship. I wanted to get four players from the Tigers after I selected Broome, and I ended up with Baker-Mazara (14th overall), Johnson (23rd) and Kelly (35th).
In the second round, I went with the best player on my board in Zeigler. He's second on Tennessee in scoring and leading them with 7.4 assists per game, giving him a strong floor with upside. The team's top-ranked defense per KenPom gives them an excellent chance to go deep into the tournament as well. I ended up pairing him with the Volunteers' leading scorer in Lanier a few rounds later.
From there it was time to look for my last two stacks, and there were a number of quality options to decide on. Gonzaga, Michigan State, Kentucky, Arizona and Illinois were some of the top teams untouched at this point of the draft, and if you're doing a lot of teams, it's best to diversify and give yourself multiple combinations. While it has been a rocky year for the Jayhawks, they're a team a 1-3 seed is not going to want to face in the second round, and I ultimately settled on Dickinson. From a fantasy perspective, there aren't many players steadier, as evidenced by him posting a double-double in four of his last five games. I paired him later with Harris, who contributes across the stat-sheet.
The last combination I went with was BYU, a team that has been one of the hottest in the country with seven straight wins. Saunders has been tearing it up with 22+ points in four of the last five games, and quality wings can be hard to come by. Keita has been a rebounding machine and effective shot-blocker in the paint and makes more sense than Egor Demin. I don't think the Cougars are going to be rostered heavily, and this could really pay off on the chance they make a deep run.
If Auburn makes the national championship alongside Tennessee, Kansas or BYU, my team should be in contention to win it all. That's obviously unlikely to happen, but it gives you an idea of what we're going for in this contest.
Team 1 roster stacking: 4 Duke, 3 Clemson, 3 St. John's
Team 3 roster stacking: 2 Florida, 3 Iowa St., 3 Purdue, 2 Texas A&M
Team 4 roster stacking: 1 Houston, 4 Florida, 2 Tennessee, 2 Michigan, 1 Gonzaga
Team 5 roster stacking: 3 Alabama, 5 Maryland, 1 Texas A&M, 1 Creighton
Team 6 roster stacking: 4 Houston, 4 Texas Tech, 2 Wisconsin
Team 4 and 5 are a bit too contrarian for me. Going with five Maryland players is limiting your upside while also going solo on two teams feels suboptimal. Team 4 also went with just one player on two of their teams, although I suppose it could work if they get a Florida vs. Tennessee/Michigan final.
Notable teams untouched: Michigan St., Kentucky, Arizona, Illinois, Missouri, Saint Mary's, Louisville, Marquette.
Late-Round Stacks
Wisconsin
The Badgers are currently tied for 10th in the National Championship betting odds and are 15-5 over their last 20 games with wins over Illinois and at Purdue. John Tonje is averaging 19.1 ppg, and John Blackwell has posted over 40 fantasy points in two of his last four. They make for an easy duo to target in the last few rounds of drafts.
Kentucky
The Wildcats look good enough to make the second weekend for the first time since 2019, and with 10 Quad 1 wins, perhaps they could go even farther. Amari Williams and Otega Oweh are clearly the two players to target with Jaxson Robinson out for the season, and the duo can likely be had in the last two rounds. Williams is a strong double-double candidate while Oweh is the go-to offensive option.
Gonzaga
Perhaps it wasn't the season Gonzaga was expecting as Saint Mary's ran away with the WCC, but the Bulldogs finished the regular season strong and have the talent that makes them more than capable of making a tournament run. The senior duo of Ryan Nembhard and Graham Ike are the two to target, with Ike sporting a massive 30.6 percent usage rate while Nembhard leads the country with 10 assists per game.
For up-to-date information on the latest college basketball betting odds for the NCAA Tournament, and props from multiple sportsbooks, check out the college basketball odds page on RotoWire.
