College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 2/7/20

College basketball season is in the midst of conference play, and we have a single-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.

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.

For those unfamiliar, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, there is an "MVP" roster slot, a "STAR" roster spot, and a "PRO" roster spot. The MVP receives 2 times his total fantasy points, the STAR receives 1.5 times his total fantasy points, and the PRO receives 1.2 times his total fantasy points, making these spots crucial.

Now that you're in the know, we can attack today's single-game slate, which locks at 8:00 p.m. EST.

Which players should you be targeting, and why?

MVP/STAR/PRO Consideration

Jalen Smith, Maryland ($13,500) - Smith is playing like a high lottery pick as the Maryland Terrapins chase the Big 10 regular-season championship. The Maryland big man is a dominant force on both ends of the court. Smith is averaging 15.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 3.3 blocks/steals in 30.4 minutes. He'll be a very chalky MVP selection after recording 44-plus FanDuel points in each of the last four games.

Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois ($12,000) - Dosunmu is intriguing due to his ability to contribute in every statistical category. The rising sophomore is averaging 15.8 points (leads team), 4.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 0.9 steals/blocks in 32.5 minutes. Dosunmu is logging a ton of minutes in Big 10 conference play; he's played 35-plus minutes in seven out of 11 conference games. While he'll be overshadowed by Jalen Smith and Kofi Cockburn, he's deserving of MVP consideration due to his 24.2% usage rate, per KenPom.

Kofi Cockburn, Illinois ($11,500) - The Cockburn/Smith matchup will take center stage on Friday night. Like Smith, Cockburn is an elite rebounder and rim protector which complements his dynamic offensive game. The freshman owns a 26.3% usage rate (leads the team); he's also taking 24.5% of the team's shots when he's on the floor (second-best on the team), per KenPom. Cockburn is averaging 1.04 FanDuel points which only trails Smith's 1.07 FanDuel points per minute.

Anthony Cowan Jr., Maryland ($11,000) - Cowan Jr. plays the Robin role to Smith's Batman. Cowan Jr. leads the Terps with a 25.0% usage rate; he's also taking 24.0% of the team's shots when he's on the floor (which also leads the team), per KenPom. Cowan Jr. is averaging 22.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.33 assists, and 1.0 steals over the last three games. The senior is certainly capable of monster games as he's topped 40 FanDuel points in three games this season.

Value Plays

Darryl Morsell, Maryland ($9,000) - Morsell has played well in each of the Terps' last two games. In those two games, Morsell averaged 12.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.0 blocks in 33.0 minutes of action. The Terps' rotation is extremely thin as only six players average more than 10.0 minutes per game. As a result, Morsell should continue to play heavy minutes.

Trent Frazier, Illinois ($8,500) - Frazier has been active on the offensive end in recent games. The junior guard has hoisted up at least seven shots and scored at least 10 real-life points in five-straight games. He's one of the few cheap guys that rarely leaves the court. Frazier has been on the court for 30-plus minutes in seven out of the last nine games.

Eric Ayala, Maryland ($7,500) - Ayala plays a ton of minutes and loves to shoot the three-pointer. The sophomore guard has played 30-plus minutes in each of the last three games. While Illinois is solid defending inside the arc (allowing opponents to convert on only 45.1% of two-pointers), they're vulnerable to the long ball. The Illini are allowing opposing teams to shoot 32% from deep, per KenPom.

Others to consider: Andres Feliz, Aaron Wiggins, Giorgi Bezhanishvili, Alan Griffin, and Donta Scott.

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.