College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 1/13/21

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 NBA contests.

Now that you're in the know, we can attack today's slate, which locks at 6:30 p.m. EST.

Which players should you be targeting, and why?

Guards

Brandon Rachel, Tulsa ($7,800) - Rachel is my top overall guard play on this slate. His rates are strong across the board. The senior has a 25.9% usage rate, 7.2% offensive rebounding rate, 18.3% defensive rebounding rate, 15.4% assist rate, and a 4.4% block rate, per KenPom. Rachel has been on fire over his last three games as he's averaging 36.7 FanDuel points per game. His excellent play figures to continue against the defensive-deficient Wichita State Shockers. Wichita State is 105th in KenPom's defensive rankings.

Moses Moody, Arkansas ($7,700) - Moody is an intriguing play because he has the ability to rack up fantasy points in every major statistical category and he rarely leaves the floor. The freshman has logged exactly 38 minutes in each of the last four games. Moreover, the matchup with Louisiana State is a good one. The Tigers are 109th in KenPom's defensive rankings. The Arkansas Razorbacks' guard has tallied at least 21 FanDuel points in all but one game this season. I also wanted to note that Cameron Thomas ($7,600) of LSU is an outstanding play if he's able to play tonight. He'd vault into one of the best plays on the slate.

Allen Flanigan, Auburn ($6,200) - Flanigan is the Auburn Tigers' leading-scorer (14.0 per game) and second-leading-rebounder (5.2 per game). He's averaging .78 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, he should pay off his salary in 31.7 minutes of game action. In SEC play, Flanigan is averaging 33.8 minutes per game (four games).

Duane Washington Jr., Ohio State ($5,700) - The Ohio State Buckeyes could be exceptionally thin at the guard spot tonight. Point guard CJ Walker has already been ruled out, while Jimmy Sotos is questionable. That should lock Washington Jr. into big minutes tonight. The junior is taking 28.2% of the team's shots when he's on the floor, per KenPom, which leads the Buckeyes.

Davonte Davis, Arkansas ($4,100) - Davis was moved into the starting lineup in the Razorbacks' latest outing and exploded for 20 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals in 36 minutes. While I wouldn't expect him to replicate that box score, it appears that the Razorbacks are counting on Davis to play big minutes in the remaining SEC games. The bottom line is that his salary is too low for his new role. The freshman also provides access to the game with the highest total (159) on this slate.

Ricky Council IV, Wichita State ($3,000) - The freshman is only averaging 16.4 minutes per game. However, he's been extremely effective despite the limited playing time. Council IV is averaging 8.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists, and 0.6 blocks/steals in nine games. However, it appears that Wichita State Shockers may be slowly increasing his playing time. Council IV has logged at least 21 minutes in two out of the last three games. Additionally, they may have no choice but to unleash the talented guard after he exploded for 23 real-life points against Cincinnati in the Shockers' last game. Most importantly, Council IV provides an enormous amount of salary relief on this slate.

Other players to consider for salary relief ($5,000 or less): Jamal Johnson, Shakeel Moore, and Jimmy Sotos (if he plays).

Forwards

EJ Liddell, Ohio State ($7,100) - Liddell owns a 24.3% usage rate, which is tied with Duane Washington Jr. for the team lead. He's also an incredible rebounder and an elite shot blocker. Liddell has an 8.4% offensive rebounding rate, a 17.8% defensive rebounding rate, and a 6.8% block rate, per KenPom. Throw in a pace bump for Ohio State tonight as they take on the Northwestern Wildcats and the sophomore makes for a fantastic play. Ohio State is 304th in KenPom's tempo rankings while Northwestern is 138th.

Greg Brown, Texas ($5,900) - Brown was the jewel of the Texas Longhorns' 2020 freshman class. The young forward owns a monster 30.0% usage rate and he's taking 29.9% of the team's shots when he's on the floor, per KenPom. He's also an excellent rebounder as he leads the Longhorns with an offensive rebounding rate of 8.5% and a defensive rebounding rate of 29.0%, per KenPom. Simply put, it's very rare to find a player with those types of rates at Brown's current salary. Despite the tough matchup (the Texas Tech Red Raiders are 5th in KenPom's defensive rankings), he's one of the better plays tonight.

Justice Sueing, Ohio State ($5,500) - In Ohio State's first game without CJ Walker, Sueing played 31 minutes. The junior scored 12 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and dished out 5 assists in 79-68 win over a very good Rutgers Scarlet Knights squad. The good news is that Sueing did not see his salary increase despite that impressive game. He should push for 30 minutes of playing time tonight and makes for one of the better mid-tier plays.

Kyle Young, Ohio State ($4,800) - Young is averaging .73 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, he should pay off his salary in 26.3 minutes of action (assuming value is 4x of a player's salary). The Ohio State forward is averaging 26.4 minutes per game over the last five games. As mentioned above, Ohio State will be shorthanded tonight, which should stabilize Young's playing time.

Other players to consider for salary relief ($5,000 or less): Rey Idowu, Jericho Sims, Mwani Wilkinson (better if Cameron Thomas is OUT), Jaylin Williams (ARK), and Vance Jackson.

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.