NCAAB

FanDuel College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 3/1/22

Matt Hiatt Mar 2nd, 2022
Jared Rhoden and the Seton Hall Pirates are in a tremendous spot on Wednesday night. Who else should we consider targeting?

College basketball's conference play is winding down, and we have a nine-game slate today.

March Madness is only a few weeks 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.

Scoring differs from NBA in the blocks and steals categories; each is 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 7:00 p.m. EST. All stats come from KenPom unless otherwise noted.

Which players should you be targeting and why?

Guards

Javon Freeman-Liberty, DePaul ($8,800) - Freeman-Liberty finished the month of February in spectacular fashion. The DePaul Blue Demons guard averaged 28.7 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.3 steals over his last three games. I like his chances of continue his stellar play as the Blue Demons host the Marquette Golden Eagles. Marquette loves to push the pace, as they are ranked 37th in adjusted tempo (Depaul is 101st).

Jared Rhoden, Seton Hall ($7,100) - The matchup with the Georgetown Hoyas is a dream spot. The Hoyas play at a blazing pace (29th in adjusted tempo), and they are awful defensively (227th in defensive efficiency). Rhoden could be in for a ceiling game. The senior is playing a ton of minutes and leads the Seton Hall Pirates with a 25.0% usage rate. He also enters Wednesday in solid form. Rhoden has cleared 40 FanDuel points in two out of the last three games.

Xavier Johnson, Indiana ($6,200) - Johnson is starting to flash the ceiling that he showed off while playing for the Pittsburgh Panthers. The Indiana Hoosiers guard is averaging 33.0 FanDuel points over the last three games. This isn't chasing fantasy points as Johnson is posting a 27.4% usage rate to lead the Hoosiers. He is also 26th nationally with a 34.1% assist rate.

At a slightly lower salary than Johnson, Blake Wesley ($5,900) looks like an interesting option. He has flashed a high ceiling and has posted a sturdy 30.4% usage rate. The matchup with the Florida State Seminoles is a plus spot (ranked 91st in defensive efficiency).

Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall ($5,200) - Richmond is a high floor player due to his ability to contribute in a variety of different ways. The sophomore's 23.6% usage rate trails only Jared Rhoden amongst the Pirates. Richmond leads the Hall with a 29.9% assist and a 3.6% steal rate. He is also a willing rebounder as evidenced by his 12.8% defensive rebounding rate.

Myles Cale, Seton Hall ($4,500) - Cale will be very popular due to the salary, role, and matchup. The senior guard has logged 36 minutes in back-to-back games. Ken Pom is projecting the Pirates to score 84 points, which is nearly 10 points more than their seasonal average (74.6). Cale is the best source of salary relief on the slate. He will be very popular.

A less popular option in Cale's salary range is Florida State guard Jalen Warley ($4,200). Caleb Mills is likely out and Anthony Polite probably won't return from injury on Wednesday night. Warley has recorded 16.6, 20.6, and 32.4 FanDuel points over his last three games.

Forwards

Walker Kessler, Auburn ($8,600) - Kessler has triple-double upside but not in the typical way. The Auburn Tigers star center is an elite rebounder (11.2% offensive rebounding rate; 22.9% defensive rebounding rate) and shot blocker (leads the nation with a 20.1% block rate). He is also averaging 11.8 points per game. The matchup with Texas A&M Aggies is relatively neutral. Kessler posted a triple-double against the Aggies earlier this season.

Trayce Jackson-Davis, Indiana ($7,900) - Jackson-Davis will never fly under the radar, but he could be less popular than normal on Wednesday night. The Indiana star's box scores have been unimpressive lately. The sophomore's playing time has been down over the last two games due to foul trouble. That shouldn't be an issue against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights. TJD will likely be doing battle with Cliff Omoruyi. Omoruyi is only drawing 3.5 fouls per 40 minutes.

Within TJD's salary range, David Jones ($7,700) is also worth considering. Jones is coming off a monster performance against the St. John's (NY) Red Storm.

Darius Days, LSU ($6,200) - The Louisiana State Fighting Tigers showdown with the Arkansas Razorbacks will feature two teams ranked inside the top 15 in defensive efficiency. However, both teams aren't afraid to engage in a track meet because they are both ranked inside the top 85 in adjusted tempo. Days' playing time has fluctuated due to several blowouts. However, the senior ranks second amongst the Tigers in scoring (13.8 points per game) and leads LSU in rebounding (7.8 rebounds per game). His playing time should be secure, as this game should be competitive. LSU is a 5.5-point underdog, according to Online Sportsbook.

Paul Atkinson, Notre Dame ($5,400) - Atkinson is under-salaried considering his seasonal rates. The senior's 23.7% usage rate ranks second amongst the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He is also an efficient scorer (58.2% effective field goal percentage). Additionally, his rebounding rates are north of 10% (11.0% offensive and 19.9% defensive). He is one of the few players with a salary under $6,000 with 40-plus FanDuel points upside.

KD Johnson, Auburn ($4,700) - This is a salary play. Johnson is averaging 0.74 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, he should pay off his salary in 25.4 minutes of action (assuming value is 4x of a player's salary). Johnson is averaging 27.3 minutes per game this season.


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.