NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 2/27/20

Taking on Nebraska, Kaleb Wesson and the Ohio State Buckeyes are in a phenomenal spot. Who else should we be targeting on Thursday night?

College basketball season is in the middle of conference play, and we have a 10-game slate tonight.

March Madness is a month 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?

Known Relevant Injury Situations: Kyle Young (Ohio State), Eli Brooks (Michigan), Cam Mack (Nebraska) are all questionable.

Guards

Payton Pritchard, Oregon ($8,400) - Pritchard is an intriguing target because he has the ability to contribute in every statistical category and rarely leaves the floor. The Oregon Ducks floor general has logged 37-plus minutes in five out of the last six games. He leads the Ducks with a 28.3% usage rate. He's also taking 28.7% of the Ducks' shots when he's on the floor, per KenPom. The senior should have a field day against Oregon State's atrocious defense. The Beavers are 166th in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings.

Tyler Bey, Colorado ($7,200) - In addition to owning a 24.8% usage rate (leads team), Bey is one of the top defenders in all of college basketball. The junior is averaging 1.05 FanDuel points per minute. At that production clip, he is expected to pay off 27.4 minutes of action. Bey has logged 31-plus minutes in five out of the last six games.

Chris Smith, UCLA ($6,500) - Smith has monster upside as he's recorded at least 47 FanDuel points in two out of the last nine games. The one drawback to Smith is UCLA's seemingly erratic rotation. However, this looks like a good time to target Smith as he's logged 34-plus minutes in three out of the last four games. Throw in a major pace-up game for the Bruins as they host the Arizona State Sun Devils and Smith makes for an intriguing guard play. UCLA is 317th in KenPom's adjusted tempo ratings while Arizona State is 18th. Remy Martin ($6,900) is worth a look as he's priced between Smith and Bey.

Andres Feliz, Illinois ($5,200) - Feliz is averaging .78 FanDuel points per minute. At that production clip, he is expected to pay off his price tag in 26.7 minutes of action. Feliz has played 28-plus minutes in six consecutive games. Further enhancing his viability is a matchup with Northwestern's struggling defense. The Wildcats are 182nd in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings.

CJ Walker, Ohio State ($4,900) - The Ohio State point guard is locked into a large role with DJ Carton away from the team. Walker has logged 30-plus minutes in nine straight games. The junior is playing his best basketball of the season as he's averaging 22.57 FanDuel points over the last four games. Throw in a massive pace-up game for Ohio State as they travel to Nebraska and Walker looks like one of the better value plays on the slate. Ohio State is 273rd in KenPom's adjusted tempo ratings while Nebraska is 32nd. Jaime Jacquez Jr. of UCLA ($4,900) is also a strong source of salary relief.

Other guards to consider ($5,000 and below): Tyger Campbell, Braun Hartfield, Pat Spencer, Jervay Green (if Mack is OUT), Thorir Thorbjarnarson, Dexter Dennis, Duane Washington Jr. (better if Young is OUT), Dexter Dennis, Tyson Etienne, Rob Edwards, and Marion Humphrey

Forwards

Onyeka Okongwu, Southern California ($8,300) - The projected NBA lottery pick has had a fantastic freshman season for the Southern California Trojans. In addition to his team-best usage rate of 23.7%, Okongwu has the propensity to rack up blocks and steals in a hurry. In total, the USC star is averaging 16.7 points, 8.9 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 4.0 blocks/steals in 30.4 minutes. Okongwu has eclipsed 30 FanDuel points in eight out of his last ten games.

Kaleb Wesson, Ohio State ($6,900) - The Buckeyes' forward leads the team in points (14.0 per game), rebounds (9.3 per game), and blocks (1.0) per game. With frontcourt mate Kyle Young -- who is questionable-- nursing a high ankle sprain, Wesson should play as many minutes as he can handle. Throw in a phenomenal matchup with Nebraska's atrocious defense and Wesson is my favorite overall play on this slate. The Cornhuskers are 154th in KenPom's adjusted defense ratings.

Jaime Echenique, Wichita State ($6,500) - Echenique has the ability to rack up fantasy points in a hurry due to his ability to contribute on both ends of the court (averaging 1.02 FanDuel points per minute). Over the last two games, Echenique is averaging 15.0 points, 10.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 4.5 blocks/steals in 30.5 minutes. Other players to consider in Echenique's price range are: Killian Tillie ($6,500), Romello White ($6,400), and Trevion Williams ($6,200).

Corey Kispert, Gonzaga ($5,900) - The sharp-shooter is averaging .7 FanDuel points per minute. At that production clip, he is expected to pay off his price tag in 33.7 minutes of action. Kispert has played 36-plus minutes in three straight games. The junior should have plenty of open looks from beyond the arc as the San Diego Toreros are allowing opponents to convert on 32.2% of their three-point field goal attempts. Kispert is shooting 43.3% from deep, per KenPom.

Andre Wesson, Ohio State ($4,600) - Wesson is a solid play due to the matchup with Nebraska and he plays a ton of minutes. Over the last four games, Wesson is averaging 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.3 rebounds, and 0.5 steals/blocks in 35.8 minutes (equates to 20.48 FanDuel points). Throw in the possibility that Kyle Young may be unavailable and Wesson is one of the better value plays on the slate.

Other forwards to consider ($5,000 and below): Aleem Ford, Ryan Young, Cody Riley, Andre Young, Evan Boudreaux, and EJ Liddell (if Young is OUT).


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.