College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 12/15/20

College basketball season is finally here, and we have a six-game slate today.

March Madness is a ways off at this point, 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 slate, which locks at 6:30 p.m. EST.

Which players should you be targeting, and why?

Guards

Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois ($8,400) - Dosunmu is making a strong case for National Player of the Year. The junior is a force on both ends of the court for the 13th ranked Illinois Fighting Illini. Dosunmu enters Tuesday night with an offensive rating of 125.6 and a usage rate of 33.3%, per KenPom. I favor him over Moses Wright if choosing between the two highest-salaried players.

Marcus Carr, Minnesota ($7,600) - The matchup with Illinois should be an up-and-down affair as Minnesota and Illinois both rank inside the top 95 of KenPom's tempo rankings. Carr is dominating the ball for the Golden Gophers as he owns an impressive 31.7% usage rate, per KenPom. The junior guard is averaging 23.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 6.2 assists, and 0.8 steals in 34.8 minutes.

Jaden Shackelford, Alabama ($6,400) - Shackelford has been described as a traditional point guard meaning he has a pass-first and score-second mentality. However, he owns the highest usage rate amongst the Alabama Crimson Tide (25.7% per KenPom). He's also an effective rebounder as his 5.4 rebounds per game rank second on the Crimson Tide. The matchup with the Furman Paladins looks like a good spot target on Tuesday night. Furman checks in at 85th in KenPom's defensive rankings.

Michael DeVoe, Georgia Tech ($5,700) - Devoe has struggled in the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets last two games with his shot and foul trouble, respectively. His salary has declined significantly as a result. However, DeVoe will be on the court a ton (plays 75.6% of the minutes) and owns the second-highest usage rate (22.9%) amongst the Yellow Jackets, per KenPom. Look for the junior to bounce back in short order. DeVoe averaged 16.0 points per game a season ago.

Jahvon Quinerly, Alabama ($5,500) - Quinerly has the ability to stuff the sheet in limited playing time due to his ability to contribute both offensively and defensively. The sophomore guard is averaging 13.6 points, 1.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.2 steals in 25.8 minutes. His minutes will likely creep up around 28-30 in the matchup with Furman. Alabama is only a five-point betting favorite.

Dajuan Gordon, Kansas State ($4,100) - This slate is starved for viable salary relief, and that's where Gordon enters the conversation. The Kansas State Wildcats' guard has a starting role and plays 70% of the minutes, per KenPom. While nothing in his game stands out from a rates perspective, he does have the ability to impact the box score in every major statistical category. He has a 19.6% usage rate, 20.0% defensive rebounding rate, and 12.0% assist rate. Considering he's only $4,100, those rates are more than acceptable. Plus, the matchup with the Iowa State Cyclones is a pretty good one to attack. The Cyclones rank 119th in KenPom's defensive rankings. Clemson's Nick Honor ($4,600) is also a solid source of salary relief.

Forwards

Aamir Simms, Clemson ($6,800) - The lone issue this season with Simms has been his ability to stay out of foul trouble (racking up 5.5 fouls per 40 mins, per KenPom). However, Simms is the Clemson Tigers' best player (leads team in points scored and assists) and he's posting a healthy 25.7% usage rate, per KenPom. The senior is also an excellent defender. When Simms puts it all together, he's capable of posting a slate-breaking performance.

Kofi Cockburn, Illinois ($6,600) - The seven-foot center is an elite rim protector and shot blocker along with being an effective scorer as he's averaging 14.0 points per game. That ranks second amongst the Fighting Illini players. Cockburn is averaging 1.07 FanDuel points per minute, and at that production rate, he's likely to pay off his salary in 24 minutes of action. The sophomore is averaging 29.0 minutes over the last two games.

John Fulkerson, Tennessee ($5,600) - Fulkerson looks like one of the best values on the entire slate. He's the Tennessee Volunteers' leading scorer (13.0 points per game) and rebounder (7.5 rebounds per game). His physical presence on the block will be a nightmare for the less talented Austin Peay Governors.

Yves Pons, Tennessee ($5,300) - Pons has been a stalwart in the Volunteers' lineup for the last three seasons. His salary remains low due to an awful start shooting the ball this season. The senior is only connecting on 27.8% of his field goal attempts. That's significant because he's a career 50.1% shooter from the field. The good news is that he'll have a great chance at turning that around on Tuesday night. Austin Peay is 177th in KenPom's defensive rankings.

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.