NCAAB

FanDuel College Basketball Daily Fantasy Helper: Tuesday 2/22/22

Austan Kas  —  @AustanKas Feb 22nd, 2022

March Madness is a ways away, but you can get into college hoops today by playing daily contests at FanDuel.

If you've played NBA DFS before, college basketball DFS is similar. You pick a total of eight players -- four guards, three forwards, and one utility spot. Stay within the $50,000 salary cap, and field the team you think will score the most fantasy points.

The scoring settings differ from NBA in the blocks and steals categories; each is worth two FanDuel points, rather than the three you get in NBA contests.

Now that you're in the know, let's attack today's main slate. All betting lines come from NCAAB odds.

Guards

Scotty Pippen Jr., Vanderbilt ($8,200) - Vanderbilt is 160th in adjusted tempo, per KenPom, and they're in a big pace-up spot against an Alabama team that ranks 17th in adjusted tempo. On top of that, the Crimson Tide are just 81st in adjusted defense. This game has a 151.0-point total and 4.0-point spread, making it one of the best DFS environments to target on tonight's seven-game slate. Pippen is averaging 19.5 points, 3.7 boards, and 3.8 assists per game on a 34.1% usage rate -- which is a team-best clip by 10.2 percentage points, according to Sports-Reference. He's scored at least 30.1 FanDuel points in eight straight games.

Ochai Agbaji, Kansas ($7,200) - Agbaji's FanDuel outputs have been all over the place of late with 26.1, 38.4, 19.7, and 19.2 FanDuel points over his past four games -- but he can have a good outing against Kansas State. The constant for Agbaji has been his minutes; he's logged at least 35 minutes in seven of his last eight appearances. He's averaging 20.0 points and 5.1 boards per night while holding a team-best 25.3% usage rate. He got to Kansas State for 41.4 FanDuel points in the first meeting this season.

A.J. Hoggard, Michigan State ($5,500) - Michigan State faces an Iowa team that is a great one to pick on for DFS. The Hawkeyes are 48th in pace -- compared to MSU's rank of 151st -- while checking in 99th in defense. This game boasts a slate-high 153.5-point total and a 7.5-point spread. Hoggard is a modest-salaried way to get exposure to the Spartans, and he's been bumped up to the starting five in Michigan State's last three games, going for at least 30.8 FanDuel points in two of the three.

Tony Perkins, Iowa ($3,500) - Perkins has started five consecutive games for Iowa, and that alone makes him viable at this salary. The matchup with MSU isn't as tough as you might guess. The Spartans are just 57th in defense, and Iowa's 80.25-point implied total is the slate's highest mark. While Perkins' starting job hasn't resulted in great FanDuel production or consistently high minutes, he has outputs of 13.9 and 15.3 FanDuel points over his last four games. In what should be a high-scoring affair, Perkins is a fine low-salary dart.

Forwards

Keegan Murray, Iowa ($8,500) - Murray is averaging 40.6 FanDuel points per night for the campaign, which is 7.3 more than anyone else on the slate. If someone rips off a slate-breaking performance, it'll likely be him. As we just laid out, the matchup with Michigan State is not a stay-away spot, and Murray has put up at least 35.0 FanDuel points in five games in a row with spike games of 54.2 and 51.5 FanDuel points in that span.

Colin Castleton, Florida ($8,300) - Castleton is a fun pivot off the likely Murray chalk. Florida (288th in pace) has a big-time pace-up matchup with Arkansas (25th), but with the Gators sporting a blah 67.5-point implied total, Castleton might slip through the cracks a bit. He's got at least 30.9 FanDuel points in eight of Florida's last nine games, and while he has only two games of more than 40.0 FanDuel points this campaign, he's averaging 33.4 FanDuel points on the season. He's played 35 and 37 minutes in the last two.

Noah Gurley, Alabama ($4,500) - Gurley has emerged a bit for the Crimson Tide and is an economical way to get exposure to the team with the second-highest implied total (77.5). Over Alabama's last 13 games, Gurley has played at least 17 minutes 10 times while drawing five starts. He's seen at least 13 minutes in every game in that stretch. He's finished with 15.2, 5.2, 15.3, and 22.4 FanDuel points across his last four games, showing his floor and ceiling, and he can land on the higher end of his outcomes against Vandy.

Marcus Bingham Jr., Michigan State ($4,300) - As we touched on for Hoggard, Michigan State is a good team to get exposure to as they're up in pace against an Iowa squad that isn't particularly good on defense. MSU is very balanced this season with eight players scoring between 6.3 and 11.8 points. That's not ideal for us in DFS, but it has kept most of their salaries in check. Bingham tops Michigan State in usage rate (23.6%) and can be had for $4,300. His FanDuel production has been down of late, but this is a good bounce-back spot.