FanDuel College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Monday 2/7/22

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

March Madness is only 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.

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 7:00 p.m. EST. All stats come from KenPom unless otherwise noted.

Which players should you be targeting and why?

Guards

Ochai Agbaji, Kansas ($8,200) - Agbaji did not appear to have any limitations coming out of COVID protocols. The Naismith candidate popped the Baylor Bears for 18 points, 9 rebounds, and 2 assists in 31 minutes of action. While the matchup with the Texas Longhorns is tough, Agbaji is matchup proof. He will be a contrarian, high-salary option on Monday night.

Christian Braun, Kansas ($6,800) - Braun's rates are pretty similar to his backcourt mate, Ochai Agbaji. However, Braun is significantly more affordable than Agbaji. The Kansas Jayhawks' guard is one of the safest plays on the slate. He will be popular, but he also comes with a sturdy floor; Braun has eclipsed 20 FanDuel points in all but one game this season.

Marcus Carr, Texas ($6,300) - Carr may finally be settling into Chris Beard's system. Over the last two games, the senior is averaging 15 points, 3.5 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 0.5 steals in 32.5 minutes of action. While the matchup with Kansas is tough (Kansas is 31st in defensive efficiency), it's also a major pace-up spot for the Longhorns. Kansas is ranked 79th in adjusted tempo while Texas checks in at 347th.

Kihei Clark, Virginia ($5,400) - The primary appeal to Clark is his enormous playing time. The Virginia Cavaliers floor general is averaging 34.9 minutes per game this season. Additionally, the senior is averaging 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.0 blocks/steals per game. Lastly, Clark has stepped up his offensive game as of late. Over the last four games, Clark is averaging 14.3 points per game.

Trevor Keels, Duke ($5,000) - Keels has come off the bench in two games since returning from injury. Consequently, he should be less popular than usual. Keels has an enormous ceiling if he's playing well. The freshman ranks third amongst the Blue Devils in scoring (11.4 points per game) and assists (3.2 per game). He leads Duke with 1.8 steals per game. While Virginia plays at a snail's pace, the Cavaliers have struggled defensively this season. They rank just 94th in defensive efficiency.

Forwards

Paolo Banchero, Duke ($8,400) - Banchero has lived up to his five-star hype for the Duke Blue Devils. The freshman's rates are off the charts across the board. He leads Duke in usage rate (28.0%), shot rate (27.6%; percentage of the team's shots by the player when the player is on the floor), and defensive rebounding rate (21.4%). The freshman has topped 27 FanDuel points in 12 consecutive games. Consequently, I suspect that he will be the most popular player on the slate.

Mark Williams, Duke ($6,700) - "Big Mark" is the classic tournament play. The Duke center can rack up fantasy points in a hurry (1.18 FanDuel points per minute), but he is a high-variance play because his playing time fluctuates from game to game. He played 26 minutes against the North Carolina Tar Heels on Saturday, and his playing time could have been extended even further had the game not been a blowout. If the game with Virginia remains competitive, Williams could push for 30 minutes. I do think the Duke center will be popular on a two-game slate.

Teammate Wendell Moore Jr. ($7,600) makes for an interesting play since he's caught in salary limbo. I think Moore Jr. will be less popular than both Williams and Paolo Banchero, which would make him a contrarian play on Monday.

Timmy Allen, Texas ($5,200) - Allen's playing time is down over the last two games. Fortunately, his salary has also decreased. The former Utah Ute leads the Texas Longhorns in scoring (11.6 points per game) and rebounding (6.5 rebounds per game). If his playing time reverts back to his previous four games (35.5 minutes per game during that time span), Allen is significantly under-salaried.

Kadin Shedrick, Virginia ($4,800) - Shedrick is coming off the bench for the Cavaliers. He is playing behind starting center Francisco Caffaro. Caffaro is a major foul risk as he is committing 5.4 fouls per 40 minutes. Consequently, I think there's a pretty good chance that Shedrick will see extended playing time against Duke's talented front court. Shedrick should fly under the radar despite averaging 0.88 FanDuel points per minute.

Tre Mitchell, Texas ($4,200) - Mitchell shifted to the bench in last Saturday's game due to a sprained ankle. Despite the injury concern, I'm willing to take a chance on short slate with Mitchell. Mitchell averages an impressive 0.93 FanDuel points per minute, and at that production rate, he does not need a lot of playing time to pay off his salary. If he is healthy, he could be the contrarian piece to separate our lineups from the masses.

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.