NCAAB

College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Thursday 12/9/21

Matt Hiatt Dec 9th, 2021
Keegan Murray is an emerging star for the Iowa Hawkeyes. Is he worth targeting on Thursday night?

College basketball is back, and we have a three-game slate today.

March Madness is a ways 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.

Scoring differs from NBA in the blocks and steals categories; each is 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. All stats come from KenPom unless otherwise noted.

Which players should you be targeting and why?

Guards

Jaden Ivey, Purdue ($7,500) - Ivey is emerging as a superstar for the top-ranked Purdue Boilermakers. The sophomore is a force on both ends of the court. Ivey has a 25.1% usage rate, a defensive rebounding rate of 18.4%, an assist rate of 23.1%, and a steal rate of 3.1%. To sum it up, Ivey does not need to rely on scoring to rack up fantasy points. He is the top guard option on Thursday's slate.

Izaiah Brockington, Iowa State ($6,600) - Brockington offers a combination of a solid floor and a sky-high ceiling. He has a good shot to be the most popular player on Thursday. Brockington has recorded at least 19.3 FanDuel points in every game this season. He has topped out at an impressive 46.1 FanDuel points against Alcorn State. The matchup with Iowa is a good one; the Hawkeyes rank 35th in adjusted tempo while Iowa State checks in at 149th.

Caleb McConnell, Rutgers ($6,200) - McConnell's role is secure with Gio Baker likely sidelined on Thursday night. McConnell is averaging 30.0 minutes per game with Baker sidelined (three games). That is up nearly four minutes from his seasonal average of 26.3 minutes per game. Consequently, his rates are up fairly significantly across the board.

Tyrese Hunter, Iowa State ($5,700) - Hunter is posting an eye-opening 34.7% assist rate. He also leads the Cyclones in usage rate (27.0%), steals rate (5.4%), and shot rate (26.1%, percentage of the team's shot attempts by the player when the player is on the floor). He'll be very popular as the Cyclones square off with the fast-paced Hawkeyes.

Joe Toussaint, Iowa ($4,200) - Ahron Ulis' emergence in recent games is somewhat concerning for Toussaint. Despite that, I'm on board with Toussaint as a salary-saver at guard. He's averaging 0.86 FanDuel points per minute --significantly higher than any other player in his salary range. Additionally, he could fly under the radar after only logging 16 minutes per game in each of the last two games. The decrease in playing time was a result of foul trouble and a blowout.

Forwards

Keegan Murray, Iowa ($8,500) - Murray is doing his best Luka Garza impression this season. The sophomore's rates so far this season are staggering. Murray leads Iowa in usage rate (31.5%), shot rate (33.9%), and block rate (9.1%). Add it all up, and it is not a surprise that Murray leads the slate with an average of 1.56 FanDuel points per minute.

Trevion Williams, Purdue ($7,600) - I have a feeling the popular roster construction will be to spend up for Keegan Murray and roster a couple of forwards with salaries under $6,000. Consequently, I think Williams will likely fly under the radar and makes for a fantastic tournament option. Williams offers massive upside thanks to his strong play on both ends of the court (ranks inside the top 15 nationally in usage rate, offensive rebounding rate, and defensive rebounding rate). However, his playing time is volatile. Due to his boom-or-bust nature, I believe the popular play will be to fade Williams.

Timmy Allen, Texas ($5,700) - The Texas Longhorns have blown out several opponents this season. Consequently, the starters have played limited minutes early in the season. That could change on Thursday night as the Longhorns are only two points favorites against the Seton Hall Pirates. Allen leads the Longhorns in usage rate (27.9%) and offensive rebounding rate (13.2%). His 20.4% assist rate ranks second amongst the Longhorns. I also like his teammate, Tre Mitchell ($6,300) as a potential under-the-radar option.

Aljaz Kunc, Iowa State ($4,900) - Kunc does not need significant playing time to pay off his salary. He is averaging nearly 0.86 FanDuel points per minute. At that production rate, Kunc should pay off his salary in 22.8 minutes of action. The senior has played 23-plus minutes in four out of the last five games.

George Conditt IV, Iowa State ($4,700) - Conditt IV is the best source of salary relief on the slate due to a recent role change. The senior has logged 55 minutes over the last two games. Over the previous five games, Conditt IV topped out at 17 minutes per game. Conditt IV is averaging 5.9 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.7 blocks plus steals in 20.0 minutes of action this season. The bottom line -- the Iowa State forward can stuff the stat sheet when he plays significant minutes. That should be the case against Iowa on Thursday.


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.