NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Friday 12/11/20

Matt Hiatt Dec 11th, 2020
Luka Garza has dominated early in the 2020 season. Is he worth his hefty salary? Who else should we consider targeting tonight?

College basketball season is finally here, and we have a four-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

Rasir Bolton, Iowa State ($7,400) - Bolton is a menace on both ends of the court for the Iowa State Cyclones. While his usage rate is rather low (18.3% per KenPom), he rarely leaves the court and has solid defensive rebounding, assists, and steals rates. Additionally, the matchup is phenomenal. The Iowa Hawkeyes love to push the tempo and they aren't particularly interested on the defensive end. Iowa is 30th in KenPom's tempo rankings and 71st in KenPom's defensive rankings.

Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton ($6,700) - The Creighton Bluejays point guard shoots a ton (25.5% usage rate which leads the Bluejays, per KenPom), rarely leaves the court, and leads the team in assists. That's exactly the type of player we love to target in DFS. Zegs is averaging 13.3 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 1.3 blocks/steals in 31.5 minutes. He's in a great spot against the fast-paced and defensive-deficient Nebraska Cornhuskers. The Cornhuskers are 36th in KenPom's tempo rankings and 96th in KenPom's defensive rankings.

Collin Gillespie, Villanova ($6,600) - The Villanova Wildcats point guard is off to a solid start this season despite some struggles shooting the ball. Gillespie has shot under 40% from the field in four out of five games this season. He made at least 40.6% of his field goal attempts in each of his first three seasons as a Wildcat. Despite that, he's averaging 26.54 FanDuel points per game. If he runs into a hot shooting game, he could smash value. He'll have plenty of opportunities in a major pace-up game against the Georgetown Hoyas. Villanova checks in at 346 in KenPom's tempo rankings while Georgetown is 46th.

Denzel Mahoney, Creighton ($5,200) - Mahoney is the X-factor for the Bluejays this season. He has the ability to contribute on both ends of the court. The senior has an impressive 126.5 offensive rating, per KenPom. He's averaging .85 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, he should pay off his salary in 24.8 minutes of action. The Bluejays guard is averaging 29.0 minutes per game this season. Fellow guard Mitch Ballock ($5,200) is also worth a look. His three-point shooting is way down from the last two seasons but that could change tonight against the defensively-challenged Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Jalen Coleman-Lands ($4,400) - Coleman-Lands leads the Cyclones with a 26.2% usage rate, per KenPom. He currently leads the Cyclones with 14.0 points per game and looks like one of the best bargains on the board today. We have a player that is cheap, plays a ton of minutes, and isn't afraid to shoot the ball. As noted above, the matchup with Iowa is intriguing.

Forwards

Luka Garza, Iowa ($9,500) - The Hawkeyes big man is averaging an absurd 50.4 FanDuel points per game. He's recorded three double-doubles through four games. Tuesday's matchup with North Carolina Tar Heels was the first time in his last 20 games that he failed to reach 20 real-life points. Garza is the perfect mix of a solid floor with a sky-high ceiling.

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl ($6,900) - Robinson-Earl is the Wildcats leading scorer (16.2 per game), leading rebounder (9.0 per game), and leading shot-blocker (0.8 per game). He ranks second amongst the Wildcats in minutes played (35.2 per game). Friday's matchup with the Georgetown Hoyas is intriguing. As mentioned above, it's a massive pace-up game for Villanova. I will also mention that Georgetown also struggles defensively. The Hoyas are 87th in KenPom's defensive rankings.

Joe Wieskamp, Iowa ($6,000) - Wieskamp racked up an impressive stat line in his first extended action of the season. The junior forward scored 19 points, collected 9 rebounds, dished out 5 assists, and recorded a steal (also committed 3 turnovers) in 32 minutes against North Carolina earlier this week. The good news is that his salary has stayed stagnant after that performance. He's in a great spot on Friday night as the game with Iowa State should be an up-and-down affair. Additionally, Iowa State is not a great defensive team as they check in at 95th in KenPom's defensive rankings. Creighton's leading scorer and rebounder, Christian Bishop ($5,800), is also a great play in a fantasy-friendly spot against Nebraska.

Solomon Young, Iowa State ($5,400) - Young owns a 25.9% usage rate which is second-highest amongst the Cyclones, per KenPom. He can also rack up the defensive statistics (averaging 2.0 blocks/steals per game). His presence on the floor will be vital to help defend Iowa stars Luka Garza and Joe Wieskamp.

Lat Mayen, Nebraska ($4,500) - We're going to need value in order to pay up for Garza on this slate and that's where Mayen becomes valuable. The junior has a starting role for the Cornhuskers. While his offensive game remains a work-in-progress, Mayen is good rebounder and solid defender. He's averaging 9.0 points, 6.2 rebounds (second on the team), 1.4 assists, and 0.6 blocks/steals in 26.0 minutes.

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.