NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 12/8/20

Matt Hiatt Dec 8th, 2020
Luka Garza has dominated early in the 2020 season. Is he worth his hefty salary, and who else should we consider targeting tonight?

College basketball season is finally here, and we have a six-game slate today.

March Madness is a ways off at this point, 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 slate, which locks at 7:00 p.m. EST.

Which players should you be targeting, and why?

Guards

Marcus Carr, Minnesota ($7,900) - Carr is posting a massive usage rate (33.2%) and a huge assist rate (39.9%), per KenPom. He also rarely leaves the court as he's averaging 34.5 minutes of playing time. Throw in a great matchup with the fast-paced Boston College Eagles, and he looks like a worthy spend on Tuesday night. The Eagles are 54th in KenPom's tempo rankings.

Jacob Young, Rutgers ($6,900) - The Rutgers Scarlet Knights point guard should continue to play heavy minutes. Geo Baker is expected to miss Wednesday night's game with the Syracuse Orange. The senior makes for a solid mid-tier choice due to his ability to contribute on both ends of the court. Young is averaging 15.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 2.7 steals in 32.7 minutes. Young and his team-leading 42.9% three-point field goal percentage will be needed against Syracuse's notorious 2-3 zone.

Tyrece Radford, Virginia Tech ($6,300) - Radford has a tremendous floor due to his ability to contribute on both ends of the court. The Virginia Tech Hokies guard has recorded at least 21.1 FanDuel points in all four games this season. He also rarely leaves the floor and averages 5.0 minutes more of playing time than any other Hokie. Of the Hokies who play at least 50% of the minutes, Radford is posting a team-best 122.3 offensive rating, per KenPom.

Caleb Love, North Carolina ($5,400) - If you're looking at Love's box scores, you're likely not impressed. However, he's posting a team-high 28.2% usage rate, per KenPom, and plays the second-most minutes amongst the North Carolina Tar Heels (29.8 minutes per game). I'm expecting the freshman to bounce back as the matchup with the Iowa Hawkeyes should be an up-and-down affair. The Hawkeyes' defense is not something to fear, either. Both North Carolina and Iowa rank inside KenPom's top 100 teams in tempo. Additionally, Iowa checks in at 71st in KenPom's defensive rankings.

Wabissa Bede, Virginia Tech ($4,900) - Bede is an old school point guard. The senior is an excellent defender and looks to distribute the ball rather than shoot. Since he can rack up steals and blocks, he's a viable source of salary relief on Wednesday night. Bede is averaging 7.0 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and 1.3 blocks/steals in 24.3 minutes. Throw in a major pace-up game, and Bede should have additional opportunities to pad the assists and defensive stats. Penn State is 60th in KenPom's tempo rankings while Virginia Tech is 333rd.

Forwards

Luka Garza, Iowa ($9,200) - The Hawkeyes big man is averaging an absurd 34.0 points, 9.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists, and 3.7 blocks/steals despite playing 29 or less minutes in three straight games. Dating back to the 2019 season, Garza has poured in at least 20 real-life points in 19 straight games. He's a phenomenal talent and is well worth his hefty salary.

Keve Aluma, Virginia Tech ($7,000) - Aluma is putting it all together for the Virginia Tech Hokies after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. The Hokies forward is leading the team in points (17.8 per game), rebounds (6.8 per game), and blocks (1.8 per game). His 27.2% usage rate also leads the Hokies, per KenPom. As noted above, the Hokies will receive a major pace bump as they square off with the fast paced Nittany Lions.

Joe Weiskamp, Iowa ($6,000) - Weisman plays the Robin role to Garza's Batman. Iowa figures to play their first competitive game of the season as they host North Carolina. That means we should expect the Iowa starters to receive extended playing time for the first time in 2020. Despite only averaging 21.3 minutes through three games, the junior is averaging 12.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 0.3 blocks. Weiskamp logged 32.5 minutes per game last season, so we should expect a significant rise in playing time against the Tar Heels.

Armando Bacot, North Carolina ($5,800) - Bacot is intriguing due to his ability his ability to rack up fantasy points in a hurry. The sophomore center is averaging 0.94 fantasy points per minute. At that production rate, Bacot should play off his salary in 24.7 minutes of action (assuming value is 4x of player's salary). Bacot played 25 minutes in the Tar Heels' latest game, and his minutes could increase rather significantly if Garrison Brooks is forced to miss Wednesday night's game.

Wendell Moore Jr., Duke ($4,600) - Moore Jr.'s salary has tanked after back-to-back woeful performances. The sophomore is a classic boom or bust play. When he's playing well, Coach K keeps the sophomore on the court. When he's not playing well, he takes a seat on the bench. The preseason All-ACC second team selection is still posting a solid 23.4% usage rate (per KenPom) despite his struggles. Take advantage of the former five-star's bargain basement salary before he has a breakout performance.

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.