College basketball season is upon us, and we have a five-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 8:00 p.m. EST.
Which players should you be targeting, and why?
Guards
Tre Jones, Duke ($7,500) – The Duke Blue Devils' point guard has a phenomenal matchup tonight against Stephen F. Austin. The Lumberjacks play extremely fast (10th in Ken Pom’s adjusted tempo ranking), and they’re not concerned with playing defense (210th in Ken Pom’s adjusted defense ranking). The Duke sophomore is one of the best two-way players in college basketball. He’s averaging 14.8 points, 3.3 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 2.2 blocks/steals through six games.
Landers Nolley II, Virginia Tech ($7,800) – Nolley II stuffed the stat sheet in the Virginia Tech Hokies' huge win over Michigan State. The freshman guard scored 22 points, grabbed four rebounds, assisted on five baskets, blocked two shots, and recorded three steals in 37 minutes against the Spartans. That was the fourth time in six games that Nolley II recorded at least 34.7 FanDuel points.
Matt Bradley, California ($6,100) – Bradley is averaging 18.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.3 blocks this season. The California Golden Bears' guard is cheap tonight after tough matchups with Texas and Duke. However, he’s in a bounce-back spot against the defensive-deficient California-Davis Aggies (292nd in Ken Pom’s adjusted defensive ranking). The Bears have an implied team total of 72.5 after failing to score more than 54 points in three straight games.
Wabissa Bede ($6,000) – Due to his ability to rack up stats on both ends of the court, Bede has one of the safest floors on tonight’s slate. Despite struggling with his jumper (shooting 37.5% from the field), he’s recorded at least 21.6 FanDuel points in every game this season. If Bede starts making shots, his production will crush his current price tag.
Kareem South, California ($4,000) – South leads the Bears in minutes played (180) and has taken the second most shot attempts (52) on the team. Yet, his price tag is $4,000 tonight. With California’s implied team total (72.5) slated at six points above the season average (66.5), South is a fantastic value play.
Forwards
Obi Toppin, Dayton ($8,300) – The potential future NBA first-round pick is off to a blazing start this season. Through four games, the Dayton star is averaging 24 points, 8.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 2.5 blocks/steals in 27 minutes of action. Look for his minutes to spike up tonight in a competitive match up against Virginia Tech. He’s one of the best plays on the slate.
Vernon Carey Jr., Duke ($8,000) – The freshman is averaging 1.5 fantasy points per minute over Duke’s last three games. He’s recorded at least 29 FanDuel points in four straight games. Carey Jr. should have no problem dominating Stephen F. Austin’s atrocious defense (as noted above in the Jones blurb).
Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia ($6,800) – The freshman entered this season with enormous expectations. The former McDonald’s All America has posted two monster double-doubles in four games (recorded 42.5 FanDuel points Boston University and 47.4 FanDuel points against Pittsburgh). In the other two games, the big man struggled with foul trouble and failed to top 11 FanDuel points. He’s a great GPP play but is a risky cash roster.
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke ($4,700) – The highly touted five-star wing was has drawn a starting assignment in two straight games for the top-ranked Blue Devils. In those two games, Moore Jr. averaged 30.5 minutes, 13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, four assists, and one block/steal. He’s currently underpriced for his role.
Grant Anticevich, California ($4,600) – The junior forward is averaging eight points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 0.6 blocks/steals. He’s logging the third most minutes on the team. Like his other California teammates, Anticevich’s price tag has been kept in check after matchups with Duke and Texas. He’s too cheap for tonight’s clash with the struggling California-Davis Aggies.
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.