This article is part of our DraftKings College Basketball series.
Welcome to our Saturday coverage for college basketball on DraftKings. This article will guide you on the best way to allot your $50,000 salary.
Here are the included games:
Indiana State at Butler
Temple at Wisconsin
Syracuse at Georgetown
William & Mary at Virginia
New Mexico at Purdue
California at Wyoming
Arizona at Gonzaga
Harvard at Kansas
South Florida at South Carolina
Buffalo at Duke
With the tryptophan hangovers dissipating and the college football regular season over, college basketball can begin to creep back into the headlines. You may or may not have noticed what's been going on this season; I'll clue you in regardless. First, we have the rule changes/emphases, which have more or less resulted in faster-paced games and many more fouls. Basically, players that already struggled with foul trouble now doubly do and some that hadn't previously are more endangered. This leads to an interesting angle, however. Fantasy point totals of past don't always tell the story, a player that played little part last time out may have just been a victim of circumstance – or that same player may just foul a lot. The point here is risking on a player that's been limited due to foul trouble is a good way of surfacing value, as that time they stay clear of fouls can lead to a very big performance.
I also want to mention the parity this year brings. The dominance of teams like Kentucky, Duke, Wisconsin and Arizona from last year does not exist this time around. Kentucky sent seven players to the NBA, Duke sent three and lost a senior, Wisconsin sent three and lost a senior and Arizona retained just one starter (who is currently out) as the other four are (you guessed it) in the NBA. The talent is dispersed this year and the parity has reigned. Of the current top ten teams in the AP, half have already lost a game. In the same week last year the entire top-10 in the AP poll was undefeated, and the top four were Kentucky, Wisconsin, Arizona and Duke. And this year, Monmouth beat UCLA who beat Kentucky who beat Duke. Monmouth also beat Notre Dame. Monmouth is 3-3.
Guards:
Luke Kennard, Duke vs. Buffalo ($4,800)
Who's going to score the most points Saturday? If it was up to KenPom, it'll be Duke; Vegas agrees. KenPom predicts 87 points, while the implied total in Vegas is 100.5. After averaging 11.8 fantasy points over the first five games of the year, the freshman Kennard has averaged 22.4 over the last three. In a similar matchup against Utah State he scored 22 points (26.75 fantasy points) in 26 minutes.
Josh Perkins, Gonzaga vs. Arizona ($5,000)
When on the court, Perkins is Gonzaga's best perimeter player. In the last four games he's evaded foul trouble twice, averaging 35 minutes and 27.25 fantasy points per game. When he succumbed to foul trouble he averaged 14.5 minutes and 12 fantasy points.
Khristian Smith, Indiana State at Butler ($5,700)
It's nice when the work is done for you. FanDuel has Smith priced at $7,500; maybe DraftKings got there 5's and 7's messed up. He's averaging 28.1 fantasy points per game this season despite battling foul trouble almost every game.
Malcolm Brogdon, Virginia vs. William & Mary ($7,700)
Darius Thompson, Virginia vs. William & Mary ($5,000)
If London Perrantes remains on the sidelines, everything for the Cavaliers goes through Brogdon and Thompson. They combined for 34 points, eight rebounds and eight assists last time out without Perrantes in a tough away matchup against Ohio State. At home against a lesser, though still solid, William & Mary should only present opportunity to bolster those stats further.
Kendall Stephens, Purdue vs. New Mexico ($4,500)
The absence of Raphael Davis (questionable for Saturday) headed Stephens to a season-high 28 minutes last time out. Stephens has three of the best big men in the nation on his side which leads to him having reign to both shoot threes and pitch the ball into the interior for easy assists. When he gets hot from outside he can post gaudy numbers, apparent by three performances of over 20 points last season.
Forwards:
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin vs. Temple ($6,100)
Happ only put up 48.75 fantasy points against Syracuse last time out, that's all. He's averaging 30.9 fantasy points per game over the last six. After battling Frank Kaminsky in practice all of last season, Happ is showing he has some game too.
Alan Herndon, Wyoming vs. California ($3,900)
Averaging 29.4 minutes and 21.9 fantasy points per game over the last five, how exactly does Herndon end up this cheap? He's $2,200 higher on FanDuel.
Zena Edosomwan, Harvard at Kansas ($5,900)
Edosowmwan leads Harvard in points, rebounds and blocks, averaging 13.6, 9.6 and 1.0 per game, respectively. He's surpassed 30 fantasy points in five of seven games.
Michael Carrera, South Carolina vs. South Florida ($6,000)
Carrera is averaging 29 fantasy points per game over his last four appearances. The easy matchup at home against South Florida should give him the opportunity to continue this streak.
Andrew Chrabascz, Butler vs. Indiana State ($6,500)
Remember that whole victim of circumstance thing I mentioned earlier? That applies to Chrabascz, who fouled out after playing just 22 minutes in Butler's victory over Cincinnati. He averaging just a shade under a fantasy point per minute, which is really good. He should get back to 30+ minutes Saturday.
Domantas Sabonis, Gonzaga vs. Arizona ($7,700)
This recommendation is based on the assumption that Przemek Karnowski (back) does not play. Sabonis is a future first-rounder and spawn of former NBA and renown international Arvydas. In the absence of Karnowski last time out, Sabonis played a season-high 33 minutes, finishing with 14 rebounds and 11 field-goal attempts. Uncharacteristically, he only turned those eleven shots in nine points, but that should even out given that he's a 64.2 percent shooter from the field this season.
