College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: National Championship
In a traditional FanDuel college basketball lineup, you have a $60,000 salary cap to roster eight players. In the single-game setup, the salary cap is the same, but the lineup requirements are different.
You select five players of any position, but not all lineup slots are the same. One of your players will be your MVP, and his FanDuel points are multiplied by two. You also select a STAR player, whose production is multiplied by 1.5, and a PRO, whose points are multiplied by 1.2. Two utility players round out the roster, and they don't receive a multiplier to their production.
This makes the five players you select important in more than one way, as you need to focus on slotting in the best plays in the multiplier slots rather than just nailing the best overall plays of the game.
Let's check out the top plays in tonight's national championship, which locks at 9:20 pm ET.
All stats come from KenPom unless otherwise noted.
Player Breakdowns
At The Top
Drew Timme, Gonzaga ($12,500) - Timme's rates are strong across the board. He leads the Gonzaga Bulldogs with a 26.9% usage rate and a 26.6% shot rate (percentage of the team's shots by the player when the player is on the floor). His 10.7% offensive rebounding rate is also best amongst the Bulldogs, while his 18.6% defensive rebounding rate ranks second. Throw in a 14.3% assist rate and 2.4% block rate, and he's able to rack up fantasy points in a hurry. He'll likely be the most popular MVP candidate, as he's averaging an impressive 36.9 FanDuel points per game in the Big Dance.
Jared Butler, Baylor ($12,000) - Butler checks all the boxes for an elite fantasy play. He receives a ton of playing time and has strong rates across the board. Butler has logged 33-plus minutes in three straight games. He leads the Baylor Bears in usage rate (27.0%), shot rate (26.4%), and steal rate (3.9%). The junior is also an effective rebounder (11.3% defensive rebounding rate) and solid ball distributor (27.5% assist rate). While the matchup is difficult (Gonzaga is 8th in defensive efficiency), it's also a massive pace-up game for Baylor. Baylor is 201st in adjusted tempo, while Gonzaga is 7th.
Jalen Suggs, Gonzaga ($12,000) - The likely lottery pick runs the show for the top-ranked Bulldogs. From a rates perspective, there is a ton to like about the freshman point guard. Suggs has a 25.2% usage rate, 18.5% defensive rebounding rate, 23.7% assist rate, and a 3.5% steal rate. Moreover, Suggs is logging heavy minutes throughout the NCAA tournament. He's averaging 36.0 minutes per game over the last four games. That is up significantly from his seasonal average of 28.8 minutes per game. Davion Mitchell ($11,500) is also a viable play. He's averaging 28.2 FanDuel points through five NCAA tournament games.
In The Middle
Corey Kispert, Gonzaga ($11,000) - Kispert posted the ninth-best offensive rating in college basketball this season (132.0). The noted sharpshooter is knocking down 44.5% of his three-point field goal attempts this season. While Baylor is 27th in defensive efficiency, they're ranked 123rd in defending the long ball, allowing 33.0% from beyond the arc. Despite tallying 32.0 and 29.6 FanDuel points in the last two games, respectively, Kispert has struggled with his shot. He's converted only 5 out of 18 three-point field goal attempts. If he has the hot hand tonight, watch out, as he could post a monster box score.
Joel Ayayi, Gonzaga ($9,500) - The dynamic guard is an excellent rebounder (6.7% offensive rebounding rate, 19.0% defensive rebounding rate), willing passer (12.7% assist rate), and solid defender (1.9% steal rate). While his usage rate is rather low (16.5%), he's incredibly efficient on the offensive end. The junior has an effective field goal percentage of 64.8%. His 129.1 offensive rating ranks 19th nationally. Ayayi has cleared 20 FanDuel points in seven straight games.
Mark Vital, Baylor ($9,000) - Vital has struggled with foul trouble throughout the Big Dance. He's averaging 18.7 minutes per game over the last three games. Consequently, his salary reflects his recent form/playing time. If the senior can stay out of foul trouble, he'll push for 28-30 minutes. That's intriguing for a player who has an offensive rating of 112.9, offensive rebounding rate of 13.9% (leads team), defensive rebounding rate of 19.1% (second on the team), block rate of 4.1% (leads team), and a steal rate of 2.6%.
At The Bottom
Andrew Nembhard, Gonzaga ($8,000) - Nembhard is clearly the best low-salaried player on this slate. He's the one player in the "bottom" tier guaranteed to play heavy minutes. The former Florida Gator has played at least 36 minutes in four straight games. The senior is averaging 20.5 FanDuel points in five NCAA tournament games.
Adam Flagler, Baylor ($7,500) - Despite coming off the bench, Flagler has recorded 20-plus minutes of playing time in seven consecutive games. The sophomore's 128.7 offensive rating leads the Bears. He'll likely play a sizeable role as Baylor will need to score in order to keep up with Gonzaga's offensive juggernaut. The Bulldogs lead the nation in points per game (92.1). Flagler is averaging 10.2 points, 2.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.8 blocks/steals in the Big Dance.
Anton Watson, Gonzaga ($7,000) - Watson is the first player off the bench for the Gonzaga Bulldogs. Despite playing limited minutes (17.2 minutes per game in the NCAA tournament), Watson is averaging an impressive 0.82 FanDuel points per minute. If one of the Bulldogs gets into foul trouble, Watson could push for 20-plus minutes.
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.
