College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 2/9/21

College basketball season is in the midst of conference play, and we have a five-game slate today.

March Madness is a little more than a month away, 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 7:00 p.m. EST.

Which players should you be targeting, and why?

Relevant injury situations to monitor: Arkansas Razorbacks guard Desi Sills and forward Justin Smith are questionable. Texas Tech Red Raiders guard Terrance Shannon Jr. played through an ankle injury in the team's last game.

All stats come from KenPom unless otherwise noted.

Guards

Julian Champagnie, St. Johns ($8,200) - Champagnie has, arguably, the highest upside amongst the participants on Tuesday night. The St. John's (NY) Red Storm guard has a strong usage rate (26.4%), takes a ton of shots (29.8% of the team's shots when he's on the floor), rebounds well (19.9% defensive rebounding rate, and is a solid defender (block and steal rates are north of 2%). His roster percentage will likely be depressed, too, as the matchup with the Butler Bulldogs isn't ideal. The Bulldogs play at a snail's pace on offense (Butler is 327th in tempo nationally). As a result, Champagnie makes for a good tournament play.

Bo Hodges, Butler ($7,000) - Hodges was granted eligibility by the NCAA at the end of January. He has been nearly unstoppable for the Butler Bulldogs. Through three games, Hodges is averaging 11.0 points, 9.3 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.7 blocks/steals in 32.3 minutes. Throw in a massive pace-up game for Butler, and Hodges is a great play. St. John's is 11th in tempo, while Butler is 327th. When considering salary, Hodges is my favorite overall play on the slate.

Kevin McCullar, Texas Tech ($6,400) - McCullar carries a solid floor due to his ability to contribute in every major statistical category. Consequently, he's averaging 0.87 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, he should pay off his salary in 29.4 minutes of action (assuming value is 4x of a player's salary). McCullar has played 32-plus minutes in five straight games.

Denzel Mahoney, Creighton ($5,600) - It's time to take advantage of Mahoney's dwindling salary. The Creighton Bluejays guard was at a $7,000 salary two weeks ago. His role has not changed, as he's still playing a ton of minutes (32.8 minutes per game over the last five games). Additionally, Mahoney is taking 25.8% of the Bluejays shots when he's on the floor, which leads the team. The matchup with the Georgetown Hoyas is also phenomenal. The Hoyas have one of the Big East's worst defenses (rank 117th nationally).

Kyler Edwards, Texas Tech ($5,000) - Edwards' appeal is mainly derived from his playing time. The junior is averaging 30.3 minutes per game. While his 16.6% usage rate is rather low, the rest of his rates are good enough to keep him in play at his current salary. Edwards has an 18.1% defensive rebounding rate, 15.5% assist rate, and a 2.2% block rate. When he gets opportunities on the offensive end, he usually makes them count, as he's currently registering an offensive rating of 112.7 (third amongst the Red Raiders).

Rasheem Dunn, St. Johns ($4,800) - Dunn has a starting assignment and continues to play heavy minutes. The senior has an incredible 22.7% assist rate and a 2.7% steal rate to complement his 8.2 points per game and 2.7 rebounds per game. He's averaging 22.7 FanDuel points per game over the last five games and makes for one of the safest plays on the board. Davion Mintz ($4,800) is a fine alternative or complement to Dunn.

Other players to consider for salary relief ($5,000 or less): Davonte Davis (could fly under the radar), Mitch Ballock, Chuck Harris, Jamari Wheeler, and Devin Askew.

Forwards

Aaron Henry, Michigan State ($7,500) - If the Michigan State Spartans hope to have their name called on Selection Sunday, they'll need Aaron Henry to dominate over the final month of the season. Henry is the clear number option offensively. The junior is also the Spartans' best defender. Henry has a solid 26.0% usage rate, 15.3% defensive rebounding rate, 25.2% assist rate, 4.9% block rate, and a 2.8% steal rate.

Bryce Nze, Butler ($6,000) - As noted above, Butler is a good team target on Tuesday night because they're playing against a Red Storm team that loves to push the tempo (Butler is one of the slowest paced teams in college basketball). Nze is second amongst the Bulldogs with a 22.7% usage rate. He also has an 8.2% defensive rebounding rate, 24.5% defensive rebounding rate, and a 15.3% assist rate. Additionally, Nze plays a ton of minutes which further enhances his appeal. He's averaging 31.3 minutes per game.

Qudus Wahab, Georgetown ($5,400) - The Georgetown Hoyas center can stuff the stat sheet, and his play has spiked as of late. Wahab is averaging 0.93 FanDuel points per game, and he's logged 28-plus minutes in each of the last two games. At his production level, he should pay off his salary in 23.2 minutes of action (assuming value is 4x of a player's salary). I also like Olivier Sarr ($5,100) in Wahab's salary range. Sarr is probably the better cash-game play, while Wahab is the better tournament play. Wahab has less competition for playing time, though his playing time could get cut if Creighton plays small ball.

Keion Brooks Jr., Kentucky ($4,900) - While Brooks Jr. comes off the bench, he's still playing a fair number of minutes. The sophomore is averaging 21.9 minutes per game. Brooks Jr. exploded for 23 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, and 1 steal in 35 minutes against a very stout Tennessee defense in his last outing. Despite the breakout game, Brooks Jr.'s salary remains below $5,000. The matchup with Arkansas Razorbacks is also a major pace-up game for Kentucky (Arkansas is 20th in tempo, while Kentucky is 220th).

Other players to consider for salary relief ($5,000 or less): Bryce Golden.

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.