College basketball season is upon us, and we have an eight-game slate tonight.
March Madness is months away, but you can get in all the college hoops hype by playing daily contests at FanDuel today. If you've played NBA DFS before, it's quite simple: pick a total of eight players -- four guards, three forwards and one utility spot you can use for either position. Stay within the $50,000 salary cap and field the team you think will score the most fantasy points.
Where scoring differs from NBA is in the blocks and steals categories, with each worth two FanDuel points apiece rather than the three you get in daily NBA contests.
Now that you're in the know, we can attack today's main slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST.
Which players should you be targeting, and why?
Guards
Samir Doughty, Auburn ($7,100) - The senior is averaging 18.5 points, 7 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.6 blocks/steals in four games this season. Doughty leads the Auburn Tigers in minutes (121), shot attempts (40), and steals (5). Look for Auburn's senior leader to continue his hot stretch tonight as the Tigers take on the defensive deficient Colgate Raiders. Colgate is 224th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense ranking.
Trey McGowens, Pittsburgh ($6,800) - McGowens is, arguably, the best player on the Pittsburgh Panthers roster. After a slow start in the Panthers' first two games, McGowens has stepped his game up in each of the last two games. In those two games, McGowens averaged 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2.5 steals. This is a great spot for McGowens as Pittsburgh carries an implied team total of 75 points, which is nearly 11 more than their season average (64.3 points per game).
Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky ($6,400) - The Kentucky Wildcats could be thin at the wing spot tonight with Ashton Hagans battling a leg injury. Quickley has logged least 28 minutes in each of the Wildcats' three games. The sophomore guard is off to a solid start this season as he's averaging 14 points, 5.7 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and .66 steals. He should log big minutes tonight, which is good news against the Utah Valley Wolverines middling defense (170th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense ranking).
Rex Flueger, Notre Dame ($4,200) - The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been careful with their senior guard as he works his way back from an ACL injury that cut short most of his 2018-2019 season. It appears that Flueger does not have a minute restriction after logging a season-high 31 minutes in Notre Dame's 74-64 win over the Marshall Thundering Herd. Flueger averaged 30.5 minutes, 8.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.3 steals/blocks a season ago. With a starting role and an increase of minutes expected, Flueger is a nice value play.
Duane Washington Jr., Ohio State ($4,200) - Like Flueger, Washington Jr. has experienced a role change recently. He was inserted into the starting lineup due to an injury to Andre Wesson. The sophomore has started and logged 27 minutes in each of the last two games. In those two games, he's averaging 11 points, 4 rebounds, and 1 assist.
Forwards
John Mooney, Notre Dame ($8,000) - The star senior forward has been on a tear recently as he's posted 52.2 and 48.7 FanDuel points in the last two, respectively. On tap tonight is a matchup with the Presbyterian Blue Hose, who own one of the worst defenses in college basketball. The Blue Hose are 335th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense ranking. Mooney is the top play on the slate.
Kaleb Wesson, Ohio State ($7,500) - While his scoring is down early this season, Wesson is becoming a force on the defensive end. The big man is averaging 10.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 2.3 blocks/steals in 32 minutes of action. The scoring should pick up with a matchup against the Stetson Hatters, who rank 339th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense ranking. Two of the Ohio State Buckeyes' three games have come against teams ranked inside the top 27 of Ken Pom's adjusted defense ranking (Villanova and Cincinnati).
Kofi Cockburn, Illinois ($7,000) - The highly decorated recruit is off to a fast start for the Illinois Fighting Illini. Cockburn was recently named Big 10 freshman of the week after posting 33 points and 25 rebounds in games against Nicholls State and Grand Canyon. The freshman center is averaging 28.8 FanDuel points in 27.3 minutes of action. That equates to 1.05 fantasy points per minute. The big man should have no problem filling the stat sheet against the Hawaii Warriors average defense (177th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense rating).
Rapolas Ivanauskas, Colgate ($6,200) - The Colgate Raiders' center has recorded at least 23.5 FanDuel points in all three games this season. Two of those games were against Syracuse (22nd in Ken Pom's adjusted defense ranking) and Clemson (47th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense ranking). Tonight's matchup with Auburn won't be easy, but it's a huge pace up game for Colgate. The Tigers rank 72nd in Ken Pom's adjusted tempo while Colgate ranks 281st. Ivanauskas is a solid play that does not break the bank on this slate.
Matthew Hiatt is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matthew Hiatt also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username easternmh. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his/her personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.