NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 12/18/19

Matt Hiatt Dec 18th, 2019
Skylar Mays and the LSU Tigers are in a great spot as they host East Tennessee State University. Who else should we be targeting on Wednesday night?

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

Cassius Winston, Michigan State ($7,100) - This might be the cheapest I've ever seen Winston. The Michigan State Spartans' star point guard is reportedly having a difficult time concentrating on the basketball court due to the recent death of his brother. However, he's still producing 0.9 fantasy points per minute. With a road conference game on tap against Northwestern, Winston's minutes should creep up around 35. That's more than enough game time to pay off his price tag. He's my favorite guard play on this slate.

Jordan Ford, Saint Mary's ($6,600) - The senior guard leads the West Coast Conference in scoring (20.4 points per game). He's also on the court for nearly the entire game (35.7 minutes per game). This is a great spot to target Ford, as Saint Mary's (CA) will receives a huge tempo increase as they face off with Arizona State Sun Devils. The Gaels are 334th in Ken Pom's adjusted tempo ranking, while Arizona State is 34th.

Skylar Mays, LSU ($6,500) - Mays hasn't played more than 26 minutes in two straight games as the Louisiana State Fighting Tigers have dominated their last two opponents. As a result, his price tag remains relatively cheap. Installed as 10.0-point favorites, Mays' minutes should increase into the 30s. As a result, his upside is massive in the matchup with East Tennessee State. Mays is averaging 16.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 2.4 blocks/steals in 33.2 minutes, which equates to 29.43 FanDuel points.

Javonte Smart, LSU ($6,300) - After starting the season slowly, Smart has caught fire in the last five games. He's recorded at least 21.6 FanDuel points in those five games. His recent hot streak should continue with the Tigers hosting East Tennessee State. The Buccaneers are vulnerable on defense, as they rank 146th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense metric.

Brandon Robinson, North Carolina ($5,100) - The injury to Cole Anthony opened up a ton of usage for the rest of the North Carolina Tar Heels' offense. Robinson will have to play heavy minutes as North Carolina is devoid of their primary ball handler. In the first game sans Anthony, Robinson scored 16 points, grabbed 6 rebounds, assisted on 5 baskets, and recorded 2 blocks in 33 minutes. Robinson's price tag does not account for his increased role.

Immanuel Quickley, Kentucky ($5,000) - Quickley appears to finally be over an injury that cost him a few games earlier in the season. He had played limited minutes in four straight games (under 22 minutes in all four) after he made his return from injury. In the Kentucky Wildcats' latest outing, a 67-53 win over Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, Quickley was back to playing big minutes (36). Take advantage of his cheap price tag before it shoots up again.

Forwards

Emmitt Williams, LSU ($7,200) - The former five-star recruit is a dominant force on both ends of the court. Williams is averaging 15.4 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 2.5 blocks/steals in 28 minutes. He's topped 33.5 FanDuel points in four of the last five games. With a slate-leading implied team total of 80.75, Williams makes for a great spend at forward.

Nick Richards, Kentucky ($6,200) - Richards is the Wildcats' leading scorer (13.8 points per game) and rebounder (8.0 per game). He's producing 0.9 fantasy points per minute. He'll only need to play around 27 minutes to pay off his current price tag. The Kentucky big man has logged at least 28 minutes in six straight games. Through a matchup with the defensive-deficient Utah Utes (169th in Ken Pom's adjusted defense ranking) and Richards is one of the better forwards plays on this slate.

Armando Bacot, North Carolina ($5,800) - The Tar Heels' offense will likely run through Bacot with Cole Anthony out. In North Carolina's first game without Anthony, Bacot scored 8 points, grabbed 13 rebounds, assisted on 1 basket, and recorded 3 blocks in 29 minutes of action. The freshman recorded 29.1 FanDuel points despite shooting 2 of 14 from the field.

Gabe Brown, Michigan State ($4,800) - Brown's playing time has increased as of late. The Spartans forward has played 27 minutes and 34 minutes in back-to-back games. In those two games, Brown averaged 11.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 1.0 block/steal. Up next is a matchup a struggling Northwestern team. Brown is one of the better cheap forward plays on the slate.

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.