NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 1/5/21

Matt Hiatt Jan 5th, 2021
Aamir Simms was unstoppable in his last outing. Will his stellar play continue on Tuesday night? Who else should we consider targeting?

College basketball season is entering conference play, 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

Ron Harper Jr., Rutgers ($8,100) - Harper Jr. owns a 23.9% usage rate and he's taking 30.8% of the Rutgers Scarlet Knights' shots when he's on the floor, per KenPom. Moreover, he's posting an impressive 130.6 offensive rating, per KenPom. He's a great spend on Tuesday night as the Scarlet Knights travel to Michigan State. The Spartans love to push the tempo and they're also struggling defensively this season. Michigan State is 80th in KenPom's defensive rankings while they're 50th in KenPom's tempo rankings. Harper Jr. has recorded at least 27.2 FanDuel points in every game this season.

Scottie Lewis, Florida ($7,600) - Lewis has been stellar since Florida Gators lost Keyontae Johnson for likely the entire season. In nearly three full games sans Johnson, Lewis is averaging 17.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 3.3 blocks/steals in 36.3 minutes. He's an appealing start on Tuesday night as he'll likely play nearly the entire game. The matchup with the Alabama Crimson Tide figures to be a track meet as both teams rank within KenPom's top 90 in tempo.

Herbert Jones, Alabama ($6,500) - Jones has a stable floor but offers adequate upside due to his ability to contribute on both ends of the court. The senior is averaging 12.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.3 steals/blocks in 27.4 minutes. His salary has been stagnant as he's struggled shooting the ball over the last three games. Jones has connected on 7 out of 21 field goal attempts over the last three games. That should improve soon as Jones made 48.4% of his field goal attempts last season.

Jaden Shackelford, Alabama ($6,200) - Shackelford is averaging 0.765 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, he should pay off his salary in 32.4 minutes of action. Shackelford has played at least 33 minutes in three out of the last four games. The lone exception was his latest outing in which he found himself in foul trouble (played 25 minutes). As noted above, he should also benefit from a fast-paced affair with Florida.

AJ Hoggard, Michigan State ($4,100) - The freshman made his first career start at point guard for the Michigan State Spartans last weekend and helped the Spartans break a three-game losing streak. Hoggard managed to accrue 18.1 FanDuel points in 23 minutes of playing time. It's probable that he'll stick as the starting point guard after he received praise from head coach Tom Izzo following that outing. The bottom line is that he's underpriced for his new role and expected increase in playing time. Dajuan Harris ($3,000) is an excellent source of salary relief if Marcus Garrett is unable to play for the Jayhawks on Tuesday night. I'd actually prefer Harris over Hoggard in that scenario.

Forwards

Myles Johnson, Rutgers ($6,600) - The Rutgers forward is an excellent rebounder and solid rim protector. Per KenPom, Johnson leads Rutgers with a 13.5% offensive rebounding rate and a 26.8% defensive rebounding rate. He also leads the Scarlett Knights with a 9.3% block rate. There should be a few extra possessions as Rutgers squares off with the faster-paced Michigan State Spartans. Rutgers is 146th in KenPom's tempo rankings while Michigan State is 50th. Moreover, Johnson has seen his playing time rise significantly as of late. He's played at least 29 minutes in three out of the last four games; the lone exception was when he fouled out in 15 minutes. Day'Ron Sharpe ($6,700) is also a good play in Johnson's price range.

Jalen Wilson, Kansas ($6,600) - Wilson has been, arguably, the Kansas Jayhawks' best player this season. His 24.5% usage rate ranks second amongst the Jayhawks, per KenPom. The freshman is the Jayhawks leading-scorer (15.1 per game) and rebounder (7.8 per game). The matchup with Texas Christian is a good spot as the Horned Frogs are 59th in KenPom's defensive rankings. There could also be additional upside here if Marcus Garrett is unable to play.

Aamir Simms, Clemson ($6,500) - Simms leads the Clemson Tigers with a 26.0% usage rate, per KenPom. He also has an impressive 21.6% assist rate, per KenPom. If that's not enough, he's a solid rebounder and an excellent defender. On tap is a major pace-up game for the Tigers as they host the North Carolina State Wolfpack. North Carolina State is 45th in KenPom's tempo rankings while Clemson is 288th. Simms erupted for 25 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 4 blocks in his last outing.

Dawson Garcia, Marquette ($5,600) - Garcia is averaging 0.764 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, he should pay off his salary in 29.3 minutes (assuming value is 4x of a player's salary). The freshman has logged at least 30 minutes in three straight games.

DJ Funderburk, North Carolina State ($4,300) - Funderburk missed three games due to COVID during the month of December. He returned to the lineup in the Wolfpack's latest game. Funderburk scored 21 points and grabbed 5 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. If frontcourt mate, Manny Bates, is out, Funderburk will likely play as many minutes as he can handle. Regardless of Bates' status, Funderburk is a solid source of salary relief. The senior averaged 12.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 0.3 assists, and 1.7 blocks/steals in 26.0 minutes per game last season.

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.