College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 2/6/20

College basketball season is in the middle of 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?

Relevant Injury Situations: Houston Cougars guard DeJon Jarreau is suspended while Quentin Grimes is probable. Utah Utes guard Both Gach is questionable with a knee injury.

Guards

Christian Vital, Connecticut ($6,700) - Vital leads the Connecticut Huskies with a 26.2% usage rate. He's also taking 26.7% of the team's shots when he's on the floor, per KenPom. Vital provides a stable floor with considerable upside. The senior has recorded at least 22 FanDuel points in seven straight games. He's eclipsed 38 FanDuel points in five games this season. McKinley Wright IV ($7,000) is a slightly more expensive alternative.

Nate Hinton, Houston ($6,400) - With DeJon Jarreau and his 26.5% usage rate sidelined (second highest on the team), there will be plenty of extra opportunities for several Houston Cougars. Hinton is averaging 10.7 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.5 blocks/steals in 30.0 minutes. At this price, he's easy to like.

Nico Mannion, Arizona ($6,300) - The projected one-and-done floor general leads the Arizona Wildcats in minutes played (30.7 per game) and assists (5.7 per game). He's also the Wildcats second leading scorer with an average of 14.2 points per game. With a healthy implied team total of 75, it is good time to target Mannion and his 25.1% usage rate (leads the team). Tyrell Terry ($6,200) and Brandon Rachel ($6,100) are also solid plays in Mannion's price range.

Caleb Mills, Houston ($5,100) - With DeJon Jarreau out, Mills should play a ton with the ball in his hands as the primary point guard. The freshman has a monster usage rate of 28.1%; he takes 34.6% of the team's shots when he's on the floor, per KenPom. He should have plenty of chances to make plays against Tulane's dreadful defense. The Green Wave are 200th in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings. Quentin Grimes should also see extra run with Jarreau out (as noted above, Grimes is probable to play on Thursday). The former Kansas guard is a viable alternative at $5,200.

Rylan Jones, Utah ($4,700) - The sharpshooter averages 0.68 FanDuel points per minute. At that production clip, he is expected to pay off his current price tag in 27.7 minutes of action. Jones has played 27-plus minutes in 11 consecutive games.

Other guards to consider (below $5,000): Tyson Etienne, Dexter Dennis, Grant Sherfield, Jermarl Baker Jr., Marcus Sasser, and Nic Thomas.

Forwards

Onyeka Okongwu, Southern California ($8,300) - Okongwu is producing a slate best 1.18 FanDuel points per minute. At that rate, he is expected to pay off his current price tag in 28.1 minutes. The freshman phenom has played 31 or more minutes in four out of the last five games. Despite the difficult matchup (Arizona is 24th in KenPom's adjusted defense rating), Okongwu is worth his sky-high price tag.

Oscar da Silva, Stanford ($7,800) - Da Silva has been on a tear as of late. The Stanford big man has topped 25 FanDuel points in four consecutive games; he eclipsed 40 FanDuel points in two of those. His recent stellar play should continue as the Cardinal take on the defensive-deficient Utes. Utah is 164th in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings.

Jaime Echenique, Wichita State ($5,900) - Echenique is averaging just 21.5 minutes of action this season. However, he's seen his minutes increase significantly in each of the last three games (27, 27, and 30). In those three, the senior averaged 11.0 points, 7.3 rebounds, 0.67 assists, 1.67 blocks, and 0.67 steals -- which equates to 26.13 FanDuel points. His price tag hasn't adjusted to the extra minutes he's receiving. Zeke Nnaji ($6,700) is a viable option if you need a forward priced between da Silva and Echenique.

Jeriah Horne, Tulsa ($5,600) - Horne is averaging 0.77 FanDuel points per minute. At that clip, he should pay off his current price in 29.1 minutes of action. The junior forward has at least 32 minutes in four consecutive games. On tap is a pace-up game for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane as they host the Connecticut Huskies. The Huskies are 179th in KenPom's adjusted tempo ratings while Tulsa is 303rd.

Evan Battey, Colorado ($4,800) - Battey doesn't score a ton of points (fourth leading scorer for Colorado) but his ability to contribute across the board makes him a viable DFS target. The sophomore is averaging 9.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 0.9 assists, and 1.0 blocks/steals in 24.3 minutes. On tap is a phenomenal matchup with the Cal Golden Bears. The Golden Bears are atrocious defensively as they check in at 139th in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings.

Others forward to consider (below $5,000): Fabian White Jr., Chris Harris Jr., and Stone Gettings.

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.