This article is part of our DFS College Basketball series.
Top Players:
C.J. Massinburg, Buffalo ($8,000 FD, $8,800 DK): The highest-priced guard on DraftKings and second-highest on FanDuel, Massinburg's recent production and triple-double potential certainly merits a look. That being said, he gets a road matchup against Syracuse -- a team ranked No. 16 in defensive efficiency and No. 283 in pace, per KenPom. While Buffalo has generated some at-large buzz, this probably isn't the spot to target them in DFS, especially with a mediocre over/under of just 144.5. I'd be more likely to target Ty-Shon Alexander ($7,900) if I were playing on FanDuel. There isn't as easy of a pivot point on DraftKings.
Oshae Brissett, Syracuse ($8,200 FD, $8,100 DK): Brissett is the second-highest priced player on FanDuel, but there is much more competition on DraftKings in his tier. He gets a bit of a tempo boost against Buffalo, although the Bulls do sit at No. 54 in defensive efficiency. For comparison, fellow 6-foot-8 power forward Esa Ahmad needed overtime to put up 15 points, 7 rebounds and three assists against Buffalo in the opener. Granted, Brissett has a more diverse skill set than Ahmad, but expecting more than 30-35 fantasy points might be a stretch. That might play just fine on FanDuel with limited on options, but on DraftKings I'm probably moving my money elsewhere.
Zion Williamson, Duke ($10,900 - DraftKings Only): Those playing on DraftKings will have to carefully choose between Williamson and R.J. Barrett ($10,800), both of which clearly have potential for elite production. Princeton doesn't
Top Players:
C.J. Massinburg, Buffalo ($8,000 FD, $8,800 DK): The highest-priced guard on DraftKings and second-highest on FanDuel, Massinburg's recent production and triple-double potential certainly merits a look. That being said, he gets a road matchup against Syracuse -- a team ranked No. 16 in defensive efficiency and No. 283 in pace, per KenPom. While Buffalo has generated some at-large buzz, this probably isn't the spot to target them in DFS, especially with a mediocre over/under of just 144.5. I'd be more likely to target Ty-Shon Alexander ($7,900) if I were playing on FanDuel. There isn't as easy of a pivot point on DraftKings.
Oshae Brissett, Syracuse ($8,200 FD, $8,100 DK): Brissett is the second-highest priced player on FanDuel, but there is much more competition on DraftKings in his tier. He gets a bit of a tempo boost against Buffalo, although the Bulls do sit at No. 54 in defensive efficiency. For comparison, fellow 6-foot-8 power forward Esa Ahmad needed overtime to put up 15 points, 7 rebounds and three assists against Buffalo in the opener. Granted, Brissett has a more diverse skill set than Ahmad, but expecting more than 30-35 fantasy points might be a stretch. That might play just fine on FanDuel with limited on options, but on DraftKings I'm probably moving my money elsewhere.
Zion Williamson, Duke ($10,900 - DraftKings Only): Those playing on DraftKings will have to carefully choose between Williamson and R.J. Barrett ($10,800), both of which clearly have potential for elite production. Princeton doesn't give Duke much of a pace boost, but they have a defense outside the top-200 that should allow the Blue Devils to score at will. This will simply be a matter of how fast the game gets out of hand, as the Blue Devils are nearly 30-point favorites. That hasn't stopped the dynamic freshman duo from producing so far, however. It's generally the same refrain for me -- Zion for GPPs and Barrett for cash. The latter is all but a lock to get 30 fantasy points, though he has 50-plus in each of his last three outings (thus the price increase). But only Zion and his high block potential deliver a ceiling of 60-70 fantasy points on any given night.
Dedric Lawson, Kansas ($10,500 - DraftKings Only): Like Barrett, Lawson is a tremendous play in cash games. Since Udoka Azubuike went down with an ankle injury, he has produced totals of 46.5 and 39.0 fantasy points. He did have a 12-point dud much earlier in the year, but has surpassed 50 DraftKings points on three separate occasions. Using Lawson and Barrett together leaves you with just $4,783 remaining per player, but there's a pretty good chance that pair generates 100 points. I would bet some of Tuesday's GPP winners execute that strategy and find value in the scrap heap (either among Duke backups or other risky plays).
Game to Target:
Oklahoma (-6.5) vs. Creighton, o/u 159, 9:00 p.m. EST
If you're playing on FanDuel, these two teams are the top two in terms of implied point totals. This game was oddly left out of the DraftKings player pool for reasons I cannot comprehend. One would think there was at least showdown opportunity here. If you're a DraftKings-only player, the rough equivalent is Georgetown and Appalacian St. with an over/under of 165.0.
If you're on FanDuel, I'm staking a close look at Mitch Ballock ($6,300). He's been a player on the rise with 28.6 and 31.4 FanDuel points in each of his last two. I also couldn't blame anyone who wants to build their lineups around Christian James ($8,500) and Ty-Shon Alexander ($7,900). For the Sooners, Jamuni McNeace played just 14 minutes in his return from injury, which gives a slight boost to Brady Manek ($6,700).
Game to Avoid:
Missouri vs. Xavier (-2.5), o/u 131, 7:00 p.m. EST
The total on this game has taken a nosedive since opening at 136, making it one of the lowest projected over/under games on both sites. There aren't really any injury situations worth taking advantage of, which makes it real difficult to get a piece here. You might be left without a choice on FanDuel with only four games to pick from, in which case I think Paul Scruggs ($6,900 FD) could be a pretty good buy-low option. Sure, he's had only 18 FanDuel points in each of his last two, but before that, he had went on a run of 26 or more points in five of six games.
Injuries:
Deaundre Ballard, Florida (concussion): Florida hasn't played in 10 days, but Ballard ($4,100 DK) has dealt with a concussion since then, while teammate Dontay Bassett ($3,300 DK) is nursing a knee injury. Both are bench players, but Ballard has put in 20.2 MPG over his last five games. He's seen approximately the same amount of time at small forward as senior Jalen Hudson ($3,500 DK), who has been in a crazy slump to start the year. I would have never imagined his price would get so low. If Ballard sits, a matchup against a weak defense could be what Hudson needs to finally break out. The downside -- this is the lowest-tempo game on the entire slate (right there with Xavier/Missouri, which has seen some line movement).
Jamorko Pickett, Georgetown (undisclosed): Pickett ($4,300 DK) started eight of the first nine games for the Hoyas, but was left on the bench in street clothes Saturday against SMU. I'm not seeing much for an explanation outside of "coach's decision," which makes Pickett a bit of a risky play. When he sat out Saturday, Kaleb Johnson ($3,100 DK) picked up the start, and it was Greg Malinowski ($3,600 DK) that started in place of Pickett in an earlier instance this season.
Udoka Azubuike, Kansas (ankle): We know by now that Azubuike ($6,400 DK) is out indefinitely with an ankle injury, but who's the next man up? The answer is not an obvious one. Over a two-game sample size, Bill Self has generally gone with a smaller lineup with Marcus Garrett ($4,800) stepping in. There's not a ton of post depth on this roster, but the biggest minutes increases have been Mitch Lightfoot ($3,500 DK) and KJ Lawson ($3,300 DK). Yet, neither has surpassed 20 minutes in a game this season, so I can't really recommend them. It seems as if they'll simply rely on Dedric Lawson ($10,500) to take on a much higher workload, emphasizing his status as one of the slate's top plays.
