NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 1/11/21

Matt Hiatt Jan 11th, 2021
McKinley Wright IV headlines the two-game Monday night slate. Who else should we consider targeting?

College basketball season is entering conference play, and we have a two-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 NBA contests.

Now that you're in the know, we can attack today's slate, which locks at 6:00 p.m. EST.

Which players should you be targeting, and why?

Guards

McKinley Wright IV, Colorado ($8,000) - Wright's 23.6% usage rate and 34.1 assist rate lead the Colorado Buffaloes, per KenPom. He also owns a 127.0 offensive rating, per KenPom. As a result, Wright IV provides a stable floor having tallied at least 20 FanDuel points in five straight games. On tap is a date with the Utah Utes. The Utes have one of the PAC 12's worst defenses. They are 79th in KenPom's defensive rankings.

Tyrece Martin, Connecticut ($6,400) - Despite being a guard, Martin leads the Connecticut Huskies with a 14.2% offensive rebounding rate and 19.1% defensive rebounding rate, per KenPom. The former Memphis Tiger has also emerged as a viable scoring threat of late (he's recorded 15 and 22 real-life points in two out of the last three games). His viability could be further enhanced if James Bouknight and his massive 29.8% usage rate remains sidelined.

Charlie Moore, DePaul ($6,200) - Moore leads DePaul with a 26.1% usage rate and a 27.6% shot rate (percent of the team's shots taken by the player when on the floor), per KenPom. The senior is averaging an eye-popping 14.8 field goal attempts per game. He also plays a ton of minutes (averages 35.0 minutes per game). Moore's salary remains attainable since he's been dreadful from the floor in each of the last three games (35.0% or less). If his jumper starts falling, he should easily pay off his salary.

Rilan Jones, Utah ($5,600) - Jones leads the Utes with a 29.1% assist rate and a 3.8% steal rate, per KenPom. The sophomore's scoring usually comes via the three ball. The Utes will need his production as the matchup with Colorado is difficult. Colorado is solid against the two-point shot as they're limiting opposing players to 46.3% from inside the arc, per KenPom. However, Colorado is allowing opponents to connect on 31.5% from the three-point line which ranks 102nd.

RJ Cole, Connecticut ($5,500) - The Huskies are a great team to target tonight since they're receiving a major pace bump against DePaul (DePaul is 33rd in KenPom's tempo rankings while Connecticut is 326th). DePaul also owns the worst defense of the four teams playing on this slate and it's not particularly close (95th in KenPom's defensive rankings). Cole is the starting point guard for the Huskies. Out of the Huskies players seeing at least 50% of the minutes, Cole's 20.6% usage rates second, per KenPom. The freshman leads the Huskies with a 22.8% assist rate. As noted above, Connecticut star guard James Bouknight may also miss tonight's game which would further enhance Cole's appeal.

Brendan Adams, Connecticut ($4,000) - This is contingent upon James Bouknight missing tonight's game. Adams drew the start for Bouknight in the Huskies' last game and played 34 minutes. He managed to score 15 FanDuel points but the junior only converted 3 out of 12 field goal attempts. If Bouknight is out, Adams becomes an intriguing source of salary relief.

Forwards

Timmy Allen, Utah ($7,500) - Allen is the Utes' best player and he's performing well on both ends of the court. He plays a ton of minutes and leads the Utes with a 26.9% usage rate. While the matchup is tough (Colorado is 29th in KenPom's defensive rankings), Allen offers a safe floor. Allen is averaging 30.1 FanDuel points over the last five games.

Isaiah Whaley, Connecticut ($6,400) - Whaley is enticing play due to his ability to contribute in every major statistical category. The senior is averaging .93 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, Whaley should pay off his salary in 27.5 minutes of action (assuming value is 4x of a player's salary). The Connecticut forward has logged 33 minutes in each of the last two games.

Jeriah Horne, Colorado ($5,800) - Horne's playing time has skyrocketed with Dallas Walton sidelined. In three games sans Walton, Horne has averaged 12.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 1.0 blocks/steals in 30 minutes. Walton is expected to miss tonight's game, which solidifies Horne's playing time. As noted above, this is a solid matchup for the Buffaloes.

Tyler Polley, Connecticut ($5,100) - The senior was in the starting lineup for each of the Huskies first two games of the season. Polley then missed nearly a month. Now he's back and he's found his footing as the "sixth" man. Polly is averaging 21.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists in 28.0 minutes of action over the last two games.

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.