NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: National Championship

Jarrett Culver has flashed a massive ceiling this year. In what should be a grind-it-out affair, which other players should you roster as Texas Tech and Virginia battle it out for the title?

It all comes down to this. And just because your school is out or your championship team can no longer in your pool, that doesn't mean that college basketball or the daily DFS grind stops.

As all year, you can get in on college hoops DFS by playing daily contests at FanDuel today. However, unlike the usually multi-game slates, tonight's single-game format allows you to roster just five players (rather than eight) within the $50,000 salary cap. Among the five, you will select one MVP (with a 2x-point multiplier), one STAR (1.5x), one PRO (1.2x) and two additional players from any position for your utility slots.

Scoring remains the same, but if you are unfamiliar, where it 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 take a look at how we should be approaching Monday's championship game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and Virginia Cavaliers.

Monday April 8th (National Championship Game)
Texas Tech vs. Virginia


Which players should you be targeting and why?

MVP Plays

Ty Jerome, Virginia ($13,000): Before we dive in, we must first acknowledge that no one player gets a significant boost from opponent pace or defense. While Virginia ranks 353rd in KenPom.com's adjusted tempo and 5th in adjusted defensive efficiency, Texas Tech comes in 237th and 1st in those two categories. Neither team has allowed more than 58.8 points per game, and because of that, the over/under sits at 118 points with the Cavaliers getting an implied total of 59.75 as 1.5-point favorites. But if there's one player who has proven his ability to produce consistently all year and throughout the tournament, it's Jerome. The do-it-all junior averaged 27.6 FanDuel points for the season and 32.8 in five tournament games. He has at least 31.2 fantasy points in three straight, posting an assist rate of 35.0% or higher in each, along with usage rates of 21.7%, 28.0% and 36.5% in those three. He's the engine that makes the Wahoos' offense go, and there's no reason to expect anything different in the biggest game of the year.

Jarrett Culver, Texas Tech ($12,500): Culver is the guy for the Red Raiders' top-30 offense. If you can fit him in along with Jerome, great; if you can fit only one, he's probably the play in tournaments, with Jerome the more trustworthy cash option. Virginia's pack-line defense could do more to limit his opportunities at the rim, threatening his floor by potentially knocking down his assist numbers, as well. The potentially lottery pick had 16 assists through his first three tournament games, but he's managed just two apiece in his last two, dinging his DFS output. But his upside is even higher than Jerome's; since March 1, he has four games of 40-plus FanDuel points, including two of 50 or more fantasy points.

Mamadi Diakite, Virginia ($10,500): If you are looking to differentiate yourself and pay down at one of the specialty spots, Diakite is a prime candidate. His ownership could be much lower than it should be following his 18.2-FanDuel-point game in the semifinals. However, in the four games prior, he totaled no fewer than 25.8 fantasy points in each, with two games beyond the 30-FanDuel-point threshold. His floor comes in the form of 8.4 boards per game in the tournament, and his 30-plus upside is a product of his shot-blocking ability. He has at least two rejections in four straight and is fresh off his first five-block game of the year. The slow, grind-it-out pace could make offense a struggle for both sides, creating more blocks and rebounds for the UVA big man. Diakite is a must if you're stacking the Cavs and expecting them to blow past their implied total.

Utility Options

Matt Mooney, Texas Tech ($10,000): If you have been following the journey of these two teams at all, the first player you'd look to for scoring and three-point promise is Virginia's Kyle Guy. But Chris Beard's squad has a sharpshooter of its own in the experienced Mooney. The senior is averaging 1.3 triples on 38.8% shooting for the year, but he is 9-for-20 in the Dance, most recently hitting four of his eight three-point attempts against the Auburn Tigers. He'll have to maintain that high level of play to neutralize the efforts of Jerome and Guy, and that is particularly the case if Culver is the focus of Tony Bennett's defense. Don't forget about Mooney, who is priced between the elite and value plays on this single-game slate.

Davide Moretti, Texas Tech ($8,500): The thinking is the same for Moretti as it is with Mooney. The Raiders will need more than Culver to get the job done against a slow, defense-oriented team much like their own. If Moretti's shot is on, it could change the complexion of the game, especially if the Cavaliers make the Red Raiders beat them from deep. At 1.9 makes a game, the product of Italy is first on the team in threes, while hitting a superb 45.8% of his shots from behind the arc. He's shot just 31.6% in the team's run through the tournament, but he's scored in double-digits in all but one. Tech is 20-4 when he scored 10 or more real-world points, so if you're building lineups under the assumption of a Tech win, a Mooney-Moretti pairing is a wise combination.

Jack Salt, Virginia ($6,500): For tournaments and GPPs, you are going to have to really think outside the box to be different due to a very finite number of options at our disposal. Texas Tech boasts a couple guys off the bench, but Salt has been in and out of the lineup all year and could be asked to play a heavier role opposite the Raiders' frontcourt of Norense Odiase and Tariq Owens, who stand 6'8" and 6'10", respectively. The 6'8" Diakite can deal with only one of the two, leaving the 6'10" Salt to step in and play more minutes. If that's the case, he should easily out-produce his cost. In the last three games in which he's played 20-plus minutes, the senior has averaged 19.7 FanDuel points, grabbing a total of 16 boards with 2 steals and a block. He's the perfect pivot from Diakite.