College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Wednesday 3/3/21

College basketball's regular season is nearing a conclusion, and we have an six-game slate today.

March Madness is only a few weeks 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: St. John's (NY) guard Posh Alexander is questionable. Minnesota Golden Gophers center Liam Robbins is a game-time decision along with Stanford Cardinal forward Oscar da Silva (missed two straight games).

All stats come from KenPom unless otherwise noted.

Guards

Marcus Carr, Minnesota ($8,000) - Carr checks all the boxes on Wednesday night. He plays nearly the entire game, the ball in his hands a ton, and the matchup with Penn State is intriguing. Carr has an eye-popping usage rate of 28.4%, shot rate of 29.0% (percentage of the team's shots taken by the player when the player is on the court), 10.0% defensive rebounding rate, and a 32.8% assist rate. He's averaging 35.4 minutes per game this season. He'll take on a reeling Penn State team that has allowed 74-plus points in four consecutive games (lost five out of their last six games too).

David Duke, Providence ($7,800) - Duke and Marcus Carr's profiles are strikingly similar. Like Carr, Duke rarely leaves the court as he's averaging 37.2 minutes per game. The junior has a 27.7% usage rate, 26.6% shot rate, 16.3% defensive rebounding rate, and 28.0% assist rate. Also, like Carr, Duke is in a good spot as the Providence Friars travel to St. John's (NY). The Red Storm love to push the tempo and they aren't particularly interested in playing defense. St. John's (NY) ranks 12th in tempo nationally and 117th in defense. Duke's counterpart, Julian Champagne ($8,100), is also a solid investment. Chris Duarte ($7,300) is another guard worthy of consideration.

Eric Ayala, Maryland ($5,900) - The Maryland Terrapins are a good team to target when they're in a plus spot (utilize a short rotation of seven to eight guys). A matchup with the Northwestern Wildcats is a decent pace-up game for Maryland. Northwestern ranks 148th in tempo nationally while Maryland is 323rd. Ayala has the Terrapins' second-highest usage rate (22.4%) and second-highest shot rate (23.7%). While neither rates jump off the page, it certainly helps that Ayala plays a healthy amount of minutes (at least 34 minutes in six straight games). The junior is also a willing rebounder (11.8% defensive rebounding rate) and an effective passer (14.0% assist rate, which is third amongst the Terrapins). Marcus Zegarowski ($6,700) and LJ Figueroa ($6,200) are two nice plays with salaries in between Duke and Ayala.

Rasheem Dunn, St. John's (NY) ($4,800) - Dunn could end up being one of the better sources of salary relief if Posh Alexander is forced to sit out. Regardless of Alexander's status, Dunn is an intriguing play on his own accord. The senior is averaging .65 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, he should pay off his salary in 29.5 minutes (assuming value is 4x of a player's salary). Dunn has recorded at least 31 minutes of playing time in five consecutive games. That number would likely rise a material amount if Alexander is unable to play. Chase Audige ($5,200) makes for a fine tournament play as he has significant upside but is also wildly inconsistent.

Jamal Mashburn Jr., Minnesota ($4,100) - Mashburn Jr.'s salary hasn't adjusted to his increased role with Gabe Kalschuer sidelined. He's made four consecutive starts and played at least 35 minutes in all four games. Additionally, he's hoisted up at least 12 shot attempts in all four games. As a starter, he's averaging 20.4 FanDuel points per game. As noted above, this is a good matchup with the Golden Gophers.

Other players to consider for salary relief ($5,000 or less): Drew Peterson, Mitch Ballock, Jamari Wheeler, Darryl Morsell, Jules Bernard, AJ Reeves, Boo Buie, Hakim Hart, Michael O'Connell, Myles Dread, and Tre Williams.

Forwards

Evan Mobley, Southern California ($8,200) - The future NBA lottery pick has had an incredible freshman season for the Southern California Trojans. Mobley is an excellent rebounder and an elite shot blocker. He's also nearly unstoppable on the offensive end of the court as well. Mobley has an effective field goal percentage of 60.4%, 23.2% usage rate, 9.4% offensive rebounding rate, 18.4% defensive rebounding rate, 12.8% assist rate, and 8.8% block rate. His outlook could be further enhanced if Stanford big man Oscar da Silva is unable to play (da Silva is a good defender).

Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova ($7,200) - There's a lot to like about Robinson-Earl. He leads the Villanova Wildcats in usage rate (23.2%), rebounding rates (8.3% offensive rebounding rate and a 20.3% defensive rebounding rate), and is a capable passer (10.5% assist rate). He also rarely leaves the court in Big East conference play. The Wildcats forward has logged at least 36 minutes in three out of the last four games.

Nate Watson, Providence ($6,700) - Watson could have a field day against the Red Storm's interior defense. The Providence center mainly operates in the painted area and St. John's (NY) is ranked 297th nationally in defending the two-point shot (allowing 53.9% from inside the arc). The senior exploded for 44.7 FanDuel points in his first crack at the Red Storm this season. Additionally, Watson trails only David Duke in shot percentage (24.7%) amongst the Friars. Eugene Omoruyi ($6,900) makes for a fine play if you need a forward with a salary between Watson and Robinson-Earl.

Jermaine Samuels, Villanova ($5,800) - Samuels doesn't receive the accolades and media attention that his teammates Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Collin Gillespie receive, but he's the X-factor for the highly-ranked Wildcats. While his usage rate is rather low (19.8%), he's an efficient scorer (effective field goal percentage of 57.8%), dynamic rebounder (offensive rebounding rate of 8.0% and defensive rebounding rate of 19.5%), and a solid passer (14.6% assist rate). Morever, he leads the Wildcats with a stellar 124.4 offensive rating. Further enhancing his appeal is that the matchup with Creighton Bluejays is a pace-up game for Villanova. Creighton is 146th in tempo nationally while Villanova is 317th. On the other side of the court, Christian Bishop ($5,500) is a fine option. Donta Scott ($6,300) is a solid play with a salary between Samuels and Watson.

Noah Horchler, Providence ($4,200) - Horchler is the best value on the slate. The senior has a starting assignment and plays a ton of minutes. He's averaging .73 FanDuel points per minute. At that production level, he should pay off his salary in 23.0 minutes of action (assuming value is 4x of a player's salary). Horchler has played 31-plus minutes in six consecutive games. He'll be incredibly popular but he's nearly unavoidable at his current salary. Eric Curry ($3,400) is also a major source of salary relief if Liam Robbins sits out. He'd likely be in line for another 30-plus minute game (two straight games with 22-plus FanDuel points games).

Other players to consider for salary relief ($5,000 or less): Eric Curry (only if Liam Robbins is out), Brandon Johnson, Cody Riley, Spencer Jones (better is Oscar da Silva is out), and Miller Kopp.

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.