College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 11/15/19

College basketball season is upon us, and we have a eight-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. 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 main slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Which players should you be targeting, and why?

Guards

Cole Anthony, North Carolina ($8,500) - The future NBA lottery pick has taken the college basketball world by storm. Through two games, the freshman is averaging 27.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 0.5 blocks, 1.5 steals, and only 3.0 turnovers. Anthony has taken 48 shots in those two games. It's even more amazing that he's made more shots (19) than the UNC player (Justin Pierce) with the second most field goal attempts (18).

Kira Lewis Jr., Alabama ($8,000) - Lewis led the Alabama Crimson Tide in scoring a season ago as a freshman. The point guard is off to a blazing start this season as he's averaging 23.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 6.5 assists, 1.5 steals, and 3.5 turnovers. The sophomore has rarely left the court as he's logged 75 out of a possible 80 minutes through two games. Lewis Jr. has hoisted up 36 shots, which leads the Crimson Tide. Needless to say, he's one of the best plays on the slate.

Tre Jones, Duke ($7,400) - Jones is expected to play after leaving Duke's last game after only nine minutes of action against Central Arkansas due to an injury. Prior to that game, the sophomore point guard was averaging 15.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 7.5 assists, and 1.5 steals in 35 minutes through Duke's first two games. It appears that his price tag was affected by the Central Arkansas result as his salary has fallen from $8,000 to $7,400. Jones is a great spot as the Blue Devils have the highest implied team total on the slate (89.5).

Quentin Grimes, Houston ($6,400) - The former Kansas player is now the starting point guard for the Houston Cougars. Billed as the Cougars' best player prior to the season, Grimes had a solid debut with his new team in a 84-56 win over the Alcorn State Braves. The sophomore poured in 13 points, grabbed five rebounds, assisted on three baskets, and recorded in a block in 29 minutes.

DeJon Jarreau, Houston ($5,800) - Jarreau played a pivotal role in the Cougars' Elite 8 run as the first man off the bench a season ago. The human pogo stick averaged 8.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.1 blocks/steals last season. Now a starter, Jarreau scored 11 points, grabbed four rebounds, and dished out four assists in only 25 minutes of action in the Cougars' regular season opener. The junior could be on the verge of a breakout season.

Forwards

Filip Petrusev, Gonzaga ($8,100) - Petrusev is carrying the Gonzaga Bulldogs through the early stages of 2019-20 college basketball season. The sophomore center has recorded at least 15 points, six rebounds, and two blocks in all three games for the Zags. Petrusev is averaging 36.63 FanDuel points in only 22.7 minutes of action, which equates to 1.61 fantasy points per minute. With a competitive matchup on tap against the Texas A&M Aggies, the Serbian's minutes should rise and so should his fantasy point total.

Derek Culver, West Virginia ($6,500) - Culver had an excellent rookie season for the West Virginia Mountaineers last campaign. The forward averaged 11.5 points, 9.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.2 blocks/steals. Entering this season, Culver was recognized as the player who will take the biggest step this season in the Big 12 conference. In the Mountaineers' 94-84 season opening win over Akron, the sophomore scored 16 points, grabbed seven rebounds, assisted on two baskets, and registered a block in 33 minutes. He's a good play at his current middle-tier price tag.

Vernon Carey Jr., Duke ($6,300) - After struggling in Duke's first two games, the freshman bounced back with 17 points, 10 rebounds, and one steal in 20 minutes of action in the Blue Devils' 105-54 win over Central Arkansas. Carey Jr. should have no problem recording another solid stat line against the defensive-deficient (176th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense ranking) and fast-paced (51st in Ken Pom's adjusted tempo ranking) Georgia State Panthers.

Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia ($4,000) - We need to save money somewhere on a slate loaded with studs. Tshiebwe entered this season with massive expectations as he was named preseason Big 12 freshman of the year. In the Mountaineers' lone exhibition game, Tshiebwe scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. However, the big man struggled in his regular season debut. He scored five points, grabbed five rebounds, and blocked a shot in 12 foul-marred minutes. If he can stay out of foul trouble, the Mountaineers' forward has huge upside at a cheap price tag.

Jermaine Harris, Rhode Island ($3,700) - The former four-star recruit is a now a starter for the Rhode Island Rams. Harris has struggled with fouls in each of the Rams' first two games. The sophomore picked up four fouls in only 14 minutes of action in the season opener. In the second game of the year, Harris picked up four fouls in 21 minutes but managed to score 10 points and grab five rebounds. He also attempted nine shots, which was tied for the second most on the team. He's a risk, but he should pay off his bargain-basement price tag if he can avoid foul trouble.

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.