NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 12/22/20

Matt Hiatt Dec 22nd, 2020
Does Purdue have any chance of slowing down Iowa's Luka Garza? Who else should we consider targeting on Tuesday night?

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

Carlik Jones, Louisville ($7,000) - Jones is expected to play against Pittsburgh on Tuesday night after missing the Louisville Cardinals' last game. The senior leads the Cardinals with a 26.2% usage rate, and he's also taking 28.2% of the team's shots when he's on the floor. Jones also owns a team-leading 116.2 offensive rating, per KenPom. The matchup with Pittsburgh is an intriguing spot for Jones and the Cardinals. It'll be a huge pace-up game for Louisville, and Pittsburgh's defense isn't imposing (41st in KenPom's defensive rankings). Pittsburgh is 75th in KenPom's tempo ranking, while Louisville is 282nd.

Ochai Agbaji, Kansas ($6,300) - Agbaji is an interesting player because he has the ability to contribute in every major statistical area and plays a ton of minutes. The junior guard is averaging 15.3 points (leads the Kansas Jayhawks), 4.0 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.9 steals/blocks in 30.3 minutes. His playing time figures to skyrocket as the Jayhawks enter conference play. Agbaji averaged 33.3 minutes per game last season.

Eric Hunter Jr., Purdue ($6,000) - Hunter Jr. has been incredible since returning from injury. The Purdue Boilermakers point guard has scored at least 11 real-life points in all four games that he's played in this season. He's coming off a monster performance against Notre Dame; Hunter poured in 18 points, collected 5 rebounds, dished out 8 assists, and tallied 3 steals. Throw in a major pace-up game for Purdue, and Hunter Jr. makes for a great play. Iowa is 19th in KenPom's tempo rankings, while Purdue is 258th.

Sasha Stefanovic, Purdue ($5,600) - The sharpshooter rarely leaves the court and has a team-leading 141.3 offensive rating, per KenPom. He figures to have the green light tonight in what should be an up and down affair between Purdue and the Iowa Hawkeyes. Additionally, Iowa struggles to defend the three-point line, which happens to be Stefanovic's specialty. The Purdue guard is connecting on 52% of his three-point attempts, while Iowa is 169th in three-point field goal percentage allowed, per KenPom.

CJ Fredrick, Iowa ($4,400) - Fredrick has a starting assignment, isn't afraid to shoot the ball, and he's playing in the game with the highest total on the slate. Fredrick is averaging 7.25 field goal attempts per game over the last four games. The sophomore also owns a sturdy 144.7 offensive rating, per KenPom. Most importantly, he's a viable source of much needed salary relief.

Forwards

Luka Garza, Iowa ($9,000) - The Iowa star posted 30 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks against KenPom's 12th-rated Gonzaga Bulldogs defense on Saturday. There's not much to say other than Garza has an incredibly high floor and ceiling. Garza has tallied at least 37.6 FanDuel points in every game this season. He's topped 50 FanDuel points on three occasions (seven games). The Purdue Boilermakers and their 38th-ranked defense (per KenPom) have little hope of slowing the National Player of the Year Candidate down. Garza averaged 26.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, 5.5 steals/blocks in two meetings with Purdue last season.

Trevion Williams, Purdue ($7,800) - We probably won't be able to afford both Williams and Garza due to the lack of viable salary relief options on this slate. However, Williams is the one player on this slate who has a ceiling comparable to Garza. The junior owns a 34.5% usage rate (sixth nationally, per KenPom), and he's taking 34.8% of the Boilermakers' shots when he's on the floor.

Joe Wieskamp, Iowa ($6,500) - Wieskamp has an impressive 126.3 offensive rating, per KenPom. However, the junior is a force on both ends of the court. He's averaging 15.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.9 blocks/steals in 25 minutes. His minutes have been held in check due to recent blowouts. Moreover, there's a really good choice that Wieskamp's playing time gets extended tonight as the Hawkeyes return to Big Ten play.

Matthias Tass, Saint Mary's (CA) ($5,300) - Tass looks like one of the better salary relief plays on this slate. His playing time has been held in check lately due to a combination of foul trouble and blowouts. The foul trouble seems somewhat fluky since he's only called for 2.9 fouls per 40 minutes, per KenPom. The blowout issue is only a minor concern since the Saint Mary's (CA) Gaels are only three-point underdogs tonight. In 26.9 minutes, Tass is averaging 10.2 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.7 blocks/steals. The Gaels forward should easily pay off his salary if he can log 28-plus minutes, which is something that he has done in three out of the last five games.

Oscar Tshiebwe, West Virginia ($5,200) - While he's unlikely to play more than 20-25 minutes, Tshiebwe has the ability to rack up FanDuel points quickly. The sophomore is averaging 0.98 FanDuel points per minute. At that production rate, Tshiebwe should pay off his salary in 20.4 minutes of action. He's logged 21-plus minutes in three out of the last four games. Also, pay attention to the status of North Carolina State Wolfpack forward DJ Funderburk, ($4,300). He has missed the previous two games due to COVID protocol. If he's back tonight, he's a fine source of salary relief at the forward position.

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.