College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 1/23/20

College basketball season is entering conference play, and we have a six-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

Tyler Bey, Colorado ($7,700) - Bey is one of the best two-way players in the Pac 12. The junior is averaging 13.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 3.1 blocks/steals in 27.7 minutes. Bey has topped 31 FanDuel points in three out of the last four games. He should have plenty of opportunities to dominate the stat sheet with the Colorado Buffaloes playing a pace-up game against the Washington State Cougars. Washington State is 69th in KenPom's adjusted tempo ratings while Colorado is 165th. Michigan State star Cassius Winston ($7,500) is a solid alternative in Bey's price range. Backcourt mate McKinley Wright IV ($7,100) is also a good play if you need the discount.

Ethan Thompson, Oregon State ($6,900) - Thompson is averaging 0.82 FanDuel fantasy points per minute. At his production clip, he should pay off his price tag in 33.6 minutes of action (assuming value is 4x of a player's current price tag). Thompson has played at least 35 minutes in 10 out of the last 11 games.

Nate Hinton, Houston ($6,800) - The well-rounded guard is averaging 11.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.6 blocks/steals in 30.4 minutes. He provides a combination of a stable floor with an extremely high ceiling. He's recorded at least 20 FanDuel fantasy points in five out of the last six games. He's eclipsed 48 FanDuel fantasy points in two games this season.

DeJon Jarreau, Houston ($5,400) - Jarreau is a freak athlete who's played most of the season as a reserve. However, he started the last two games for Houston. In the two starts, Jarreau averaged 32.5 minutes, which is up significantly from his season average (23.2 minutes per game). He's coming off his best game of the season in which he scored 12 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, assisted on six baskets, recorded three steals, and blocked a shot against Wichita State on Saturday. Roster him before his price tag adjusts to his new role.

D'Shawn Schwartz, Colorado ($4,400) - Schwartz plays the second most minutes amongst the Buffaloes (27.8 per game) and is the team's third leading scorer (10.7 per game). Colorado has an implied team total of 76.5, which is nearly 5 points higher than their season-long average of 71.6. I'm willing to roll the dice with Schwartz at his dirt-cheap price tag in order to spend up for several high-end players.

Other cheap guards to consider (below $5,000): Quentin Grimes, Will Richardson, Rylan Jones, Jaime Jacquez Jr., Noah Williams, Rob Phinisee, and Marcus Tsohonis

Forwards

Tres Tinkle, Oregon State ($8,700) - Tinkle logs a ton of minutes and can rack up fantasy points in a hurry because of his ability to contribute in every statistical category. The senior is averaging 19.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.7 blocks/steals in 34.3 minutes. His minutes have spiked as of late; he's played 36 or more minutes in six consecutive games. On tap is a phenomenal matchup against the defensive-deficient UCLA Bruins. The Bruins are 199th in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings. Tinkle is the highest-priced player on the slate, but he's worth the price tag. Michigan State forward Xavier Tillman ($8,100) is a viable alternative if you can't afford to spend all the way up for Tinkle.

Isaiah Stewart, Washington ($7,800) - Stewart leads the Washington Huskies with a 26.5% usage rate, and he's also taking 27.1% of the team's shots when he's on the floor (which also leads the team), per KenPom. The freshman phenom flashed his sky-high ceiling in his last outing as he recorded 63.8 FanDuel points against a good Oregon Ducks squad. He'll be very popular as the matchup with Utah is an outstanding one. The Utes are 196th in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings. Teammates Jaden McDaniels ($6,300) and Nahziah Carter ($5,200) are both good plays, as well.

Kylor Kelley, Oregon State ($6,500) - Kelly is averaging 0.95 FanDuel fantasy points per minute. At his production clip, he should pay off his price tag in 27.4 minutes of action. The seven-footer has topped 30 minutes in six out of the last seven games. Throw in a matchup with the struggling UCLA Bruins, and he's an intriguing target.

Jalen Hill, UCLA ($5,900) - Hill appears to be one of the few Bruins that head coach Mick Cronin trusts to play big minutes. He logged 31 and 32 minutes in UCLA's last two games, which is up from the 24.8 minutes he's averaging so far this season. Hill responded with 28.7 FanDuel fantasy points against California and 37.4 FanDuel points versus Stanford in those two games. His price tag hasn't caught up with his increased minutes.

Evan Battey, Colorado ($4,900) - Battey is a bit of wildcard as his floor is extremely low, but he's also one of the few cheap forwards with 30-FanDuel-point upside. Battey is averaging 0.76 FanDuel fantasy points per minute, and the matchup is really good as the Buffaloes host Washington State. I'm willing to bet that he'll have one of his better games of the season as Washington State is 99th in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings.

Other cheap forward to consider (below $5,000): Jeff Pollard and Gabe Brown

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.