NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 12/3/19

Precious Achiuwa should continue his recent hot stretch with a matchup against Bradley. Who else should we be targeting on Tuesday night?

College basketball season is upon us, and we have a four-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

Tre Jones, Duke ($7,400) - The Duke Blue Devils' floor general is averaging 15.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists, and 2.5 blocks/steals through eight games. Jones is one of the best defenders in the country and will have to be more assertive on the offensive end with Cassius Stanley out for an extended period. Stanley is the Blue Devils' third-leading scorer and second-leading rebounder. Jones has topped 25.3 FanDuel points in five straight games.

Kamar Baldwin, Butler ($6,300) - Despite playing in one of the slowest offenses in college basketball (the Butler Bulldogs are 341st in Ken Pom's adjusted tempo ranking), Baldwin is averaging 15.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2.2 blocks/steals in 27 minutes of action. With a competitive game expected against the Mississippi Rebels, Baldwin's minutes should spike up to around the 34 he averaged a season ago. Additionally, this a major pace up game for the Bulldogs as the Rebels are 113th in Ken Pom's adjusted tempo ranking.

Justin Champagnie, Pittsburgh ($6,200) - The emerging freshman has flourished since his insertion into the Pittsburgh Panthers' starting lineup. In each of his four games as a starter, Champagnie has recorded at least 26.2 FanDuel points. He's led the Panthers in scoring in two out of the last three games while also playing at least 31 minutes in those games.

Boogie Ellis, Memphis ($4,900) - With Memphis missing James Wiseman (ineligible) and Lester Quinones (injured), Ellis will be expected to log big minutes. In the Memphis Tigers' first game without Quinones (and third game without Wiseman), Ellis logged 30 minutes (a season-high). He scored 21 points, which led the team. The highly touted freshman is under-priced for his talent level and increased role.

Rocket Watts, Michigan State ($4,300) - Known as an excellent defender, there's a good chance Watts sees extended run against the Blue Devils. He'll likely spend a lot of time guarding Tre Jones. Watts is averaging 6.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and a steal in 22.1 minutes of action. If the freshman can knock down a few shots (shooting 29.1% from the field this season), he'll easily pay off his cheap price tag.

Forwards

Vernon Carey Jr., Duke ($8,000) - The sensational freshman is a monster fantasy point per minute producer (averaging 1.38 fantasy points per minute). At his current production, Carey Jr. will only need to play around 24 minutes to pay off his current price tag (assuming value is 4x of a player's price tag). With Duke installed as a 6.5-point underdog, Carey Jr. will likely be forced to play as many minutes as he can handle.

Jordan Nwora, Louisville ($7,600) - Nwora has taken 26.4% of the Louisville Cardinals' field goal attempts. He's the Cardinals' leading scorer (21.9 points per game) and third-leading rebounder (6.9 rebounds per game). While a matchup with the ultra-hot Michigan Wolverines isn't great (12th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense ranking), Louisville is still carrying the third-highest implied team total on the slate (73.5 points).

Precious Achiuwa, Memphis ($7,200) - Achiuwa has been on a tear with James Wiseman sidelined. In four games sans Wiseman, the heralded freshman is averaging 19 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 2 steals. With Memphis carrying an implied team total of 80.5 (highest on the slate), Achiuwa is one of the best plays on the slate.

Xavier Tillman, Michigan State ($7,100) - Tillman provides one of the safest floors on the slate as he's recorded at least 24.7 FanDuel points in six consecutive games. Michigan State will need Tillman to play a ton of minutes as Tillman's size will be needed against Duke's star freshman forward/center, Vernon Carey Jr.

Matthew Hurt, Duke ($4,800) - With Cassius Stanley out, Duke will need someone to step up, especially offensively. Enter Matthew Hurt. Known for his offensive prowess, Hurt is the logical player to fill that scoring void. In the Blue Devils last game, Hurt scored 20 points and grabbed 8 rebounds in 33 minutes (all season highs).


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.