College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 1/17/20

College basketball season is entering conference play, and we have a three-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?

Relevant Injury Situations: Michigan forward Isaiah Livers is a game-time decision.

Guards

Jordan Goodwin, Saint Louis ($7,800) - The junior guard is an excellent rebounder (10.5 rebounds per game) and rarely leaves the floor (34.9 minutes per game). He also owns a usage rate of 25.3% and takes 25.1% of the Saint Louis Billikens' shots when he's on the floor (both are second best on the team), per KenPom. Goodwin has topped 30 FanDuel points in five straight games. He's one of the top guards on the slate.

Zavier Simpson, Michigan ($7,500) - The Wolverines' floor general is playing a ton of minutes (at least 38 minutes in three straight games), and he also leads the team with a usage rate of 25.5%. Throw in Simpson's ability to contribute across the board, and he becomes an intriguing play. Simpson is averaging 12.6 points, 4.5 rebounds, 8.9 assists, and 1.1 blocks/steals. The matchup with Iowa is also pretty good as the Hawkeyes are 75th in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings.

Trey Landers, Dayton ($6,100) - Landers has topped 30 FanDuel points in three out of the last four games. He's eclipsed 24 FanDuel points in six consecutive games -- yet his price remains very affordable at only $6,100. Landers is shooting 38.3% from beyond the arc. The matchup with Saint Louis should provide Landers with some open looks from deep as the Billikens are allowing opponents to shoot 33.6% from the three-point line (206th in the nation in three point percentage allowed, per KenPom).

Franz Wagner, Michigan ($5,500) - The freshman has gained the trust of Michigan coach Juwan Howard. Wagner has logged 111 minutes out of a possible 130 minutes over the last three games. With Isaiah Livers possibly out, the Wolverines need Wagner to provide scoring from the wing. If Livers sits, Wagner should play a ton of minutes and take a lot of shots (averaging 11.3 field goal attempts in the last three games) for the fourth consecutive game.

Connor McCaffery, Iowa ($5,000) - McCaffrey is averaging 0.66 FanDuel fantasy points per minute. At that production clip, he should pay off his price tag in 30.3 minutes of action. McCaffrey has played at least 31 minutes in three straight games. He's a solid source of salary relief on this slate. Teammate CJ Fredrick also looks like a decent value play at $5,200.

Forwards

Luka Garza, Iowa ($8,600) - The Iowa Hawkeyes' center has been nearly unstoppable this season. He's averaging a mind boggling 1.3 FanDuel fantasy points per minute. Garza gets another crack against a Michigan squad that he dominated back in mid-December. He dropped 44 real-life points and collected eight rebounds in 36 minutes of action in that game. Garza will likely be the highest-owned player on the slate.

Xavier Tillman, Michigan State ($8,100) - Tillman is an imposing force on both ends of the court. The junior is averaging 1.11 FanDuel fantasy points per minute. At that production clip, he should pay off his price tag in 29.2 minutes of action. Tillman has played at least 33 minutes in four straight games.

Joe Wieskamp, Iowa ($6,600) - Wieskamp has logged at least 35 minutes in four consecutive games. He topped 28 FanDuel points in all four of those games. On tap is a matchup with a struggling Michigan defense. The Wolverines have allowed at least 75 points in three straight games.

Ryan Mikesell, Dayton ($5,600) - While he averages just 10.4 points per game, Mikesell is viable due to his ability to rack up the defensive stats. Over the last five games, the forward is averaging 7.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocks/steals. He's also recorded at least 21.2 FanDuel points five consecutive games. He looks like one of the better values on this three-game slate.

Micah Potter, Wisconsin ($4,700) - This slate lacks appealing cheap plays. While the matchup with Michigan State Spartans is rough (MSU is 31st in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings), Potter can rack up fantasy points in a hurry. He's averaging 1.25 FanDuel fantasy points per minute. He's one of the few players under $5,000 who has 30-FanDuel-point upside. I also like Gabe Brown ($4,400) on the Michigan State side as a cheap play. Brown is averaging 28 minutes of action over his last four games.

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.