We’re back to the mid-week DFS College Basketball grind! The time is NOW to build your bankroll and get acclimated to rotations and DFS lineup strategies with the larger March Madness contests right around the corner.

As usual, we have a massive slate tonight on both sites with the first games tipping at 7 pm ET. DraftKings has a 14-game slate and FanDuel has a 12-gamer. Most of the matchups are common to both sites, but there are few outlier games. The Texas A&M-Mississippi, California-Oregon and Utah-USC games are only available on DK, while FanDuel includes Nevada-Colorado State as its one-off matchup.

With a specific eye towards recent game trends, favorable and/or tough matchups, rotations and KenPom’s advanced stats, we’ll outline the guards and forwards to prioritize in your DFS CBB lineups today for both sites. We’ll also point out the games to generally target and fade today based on pace of play, spread and implied point totals as predicted by KenPom.

 

Games To Target:

 

Creighton @ Villanova - 8 pm ET (NOVA -8 / 153 Implied Total)

LSU @ Mississippi State - 9 pm ET (MSU -3 / 155 Implied Total)

Utah @ USC - 11 pm ET (USC -6 / 152 Implied Total) - DK Only

 

Game To Fade:

 

Clemson @ Georgia Tech - 7 pm ET (CLEM -1 / 125 Implied Total)

Baylor @ Texas - 8 pm ET (TEX -3 / 131 Implied Total)

Wisconsin @ Minnesota - 9 pm ET (WISC -5 / 133 Implied Total)

Guards

Tremont Waters - LSU ($8,600 DK / $8,800 FD) - Waters has emerged as a stud for LSU this season and is one of the best high-priced guards tonight in what should be a high-scoring game vs. Mississippi State. Over the last ten games, the sophomore point guard is averaging 18.6 points, seven assists, four rebounds and 40.1 DK points with six different outings of at least 40 fantasy points. Waters also seems to particularly raise his offensive game on the road, where his real point and DFS point averages are both higher than his numbers at home. In his last road test, he put up 36 real points, seven rebounds and three steals for a whopping 55.75 DK points. The LSU offense clearly runs through Waters and he should have the ball in hands, making a ton of plays throughout the entirety of this road matchup vs. MSU.  

James Akinjo - GTWN ($6,700 DK / $7,000 FD) - Akinjo’s offensive production has been a bit inconsistent during conference play, but the freshman point guard is always a threat to 5x his salary when he’s at the top of his game. Akinjo did just that when he faced Providence earlier this season - putting up 37.5 DK points with 20 real points, nine assists and four rebounds in the double OT victory. Georgetown will need a similar performance from him again tonight on the road in this rematch due to the recent struggles of Hoyas’ center Jessie Govan. Although Govan dominated Providence in the previous meeting, he could be in foul trouble for the second straight game as Alpha Diallo and Nate Watson both draw fouls at top 10 rates in the Big East. Akinjo is still just a tournament play tonight because of his increase in salary and the legit risk he only scores double-digit points. Yet, he’s capable of monster games as he did against Providence last month and two games ago vs. Xavier when he posted a whopping 46.25 DK points with 23 real points, four assists, five rebounds and five steals.

Lindy Waters III - OKST ($6,500 DK / $6,600 FD) - Waters isn’t particularly attractive on paper, but he could provide some affordable value at the guard position tonight. Waters has scored in double figures in five straight and his usage remains high as Oklahoma State’s starting point guard because of the lack of bench depth behind him. The Cowboys have just 6-7 scholarship players available tonight which should cement Waters into 35+ minutes - a mark he’s reached each of the last three outings to go along with double-digit shot attempts in all three games as well. Waters also gets a pace-up boost with a matchup vs. TCU’s notably faster tempo than Oklahoma State’s - meaning more possessions where Waters will be handling the ball, whether he’s scoring or assisting.

William Jackson II - UGA ($4,200 DK / $4,800 FD) - It appears Jackson has earned his starting shooting guard role back after getting benched for a two-game stretch last month. The senior has started the last three games and scored in double figures in each. Over that three-game stretch, Jackson averaged 19 DK points making him a nice value play tonight if he starts again. Junior Jordan Harris, who started those two games when Jackson came off the bench, was back in the lineup for Saturday’s game but came off the bench as he returned from a concussion. If Harris ($4,300 DK / $5,300 FD) gets the starting nod tonight over Jackson, he’s also in play - especially on DK with a cheaper price. Yet, Jackson could easily stick in the starting lineup and becomes an attractive punt play for potential 5x value.

 

Kaleb Joseph - CRE ($3,400 DK / $3,700 FD) - With Marcus Zegarowski out indefinitely with a broken hand, Joseph should be the biggest beneficiary with a probable move into the starting shooting guard role tonight. The senior has played sparingly off the bench for Creighton this season, but he saw a season-high 29 minutes when Zegarowski got hurt on Sunday. In the extended playing time, Joseph put up eight points, four rebounds, three assists and 21.5 DK points. Creighton is dealing with a slew of injuries and could have just seven scholarship players available for tonight’s game vs. Villanova. Joseph should be a popular play in cash and tournaments with such a cheap salary on both sites and a real shot at 6x or 7x return.

Other Guards to Consider:

Phil Booth - NOVA ($8,300 DK / $8,100 FD)

Ty-Shon Alexander - CRE ($7,300 DK / $7,700 FD)

Sedrick Barefield - UTAH ($6,800 DK Only)

Zach Johnson - MIA ($6,200 DK / $7,300 FD)

 

Forwards

 

John Mooney - ND ($9,000 DK / $8,500 FD) - If you’re looking for guaranteed production from the forward position tonight, Mooney is your guy. The junior has eight straight double-doubles and has averaged 40.5 DK points over the last ten games - including a four-game stretch in January when he averaged 50.4 fantasy points. Tonight, he should post yet another double-digit rebound performance as he gets a favorable matchup vs. Miami - one of the worst rebounding teams in the ACC. Meanwhile, Mooney’s 32.6% defensive rebound rate is tops in the conference and his combined rebound rate leads the team by a comfortable margin. Mooney’s fantasy point floor is ridiculously high because of his rebounding efficiency - as evidenced on Saturday vs. Boston College. In that game, the 6’9” center showed he can still return value on limited shot attempts - he put up 34.75 DK points on just eight shots thanks to a 13-rebound night.

 

Bruno Fernando - UMD ($8,900 DK / $8,100 FD) - If Mooney is 1A among forwards on tonight’s slate, Fernando is a pretty darn close 1B. The Maryland sophomore has five straight double-doubles and eight such games in the last ten outings - including an 18-point, 17-rebound effort vs. Nebraska a month ago. In that game, it was clear Fernando’s 6-foot-10, 240-pound frame was no match for the Cornhuskers’ undersized bigs in the paint as he was the go-to option for Maryland’s offense and cruised to 43+ DK points. Expect more of the same from Fernando tonight as Nebraska won’t be able to contain him on the offensive or defensive boards in this rematch. The Angolan native owns a 43.6% combined rebounding rate - a top 3 mark among all Big Ten forwards - while Nebraska is one of the worst defensive rebounding teams in the conference.

 

Abdoulaye Gueye - GT ($5,500 DK / $5,500 FD) - This Clemson-Georgia Tech matchup is one we want to generally avoid tonight, but Gueye can still return value even in a low-scoring game. Since returning from a leg injury a couple weeks ago, the senior has started each of the last four games and is seeing big usage and scoring opportunities for Tech. Over that four-game span, Gueye logged 37 minutes three different times and averaged more than 12 shots and 14 points per game with two separate outings of 30+ DK points. All these numbers are noticeably higher than his season-long averages as he had been a backup for Georgia Tech for much of the season before his injury. This new starting role for Gueye has raised his DFS floor to around 22 points with legit upside to 6x his affordable salary.

 

Reggie Perry - MSU ($5,400 DK / $5,200 FD) - With Aric Holman struggling lately, Reggie Perry got the spot start last game and responded with a monster performance. The Mississippi State freshman put up 21 points, 11 rebounds and nearly 40 DK points in a season-high 34 minutes in Saturday’s win over rival Ole Miss. The former McDonald’s All-American has seen limited playing time for much of this season, but it’s hard to envision Perry moving back to a reserve role after such a dominating recent stretch for the Bulldogs. Over the last three games, he has two double-doubles and has averaged 31.4 DK points per outing. Perry gets a nice matchup tonight, too, against an LSU team that’s poor on the defensive boards - an area where Perry excels as he leads Mississippi State in offensive rebounding and has a team-leading 35.8 rebounding rate. Even if Perry comes off the bench tonight, he can easily 4x his affordable salary on both sites as he’s clearly deserved more playing time.

Other Forwards to Consider:

Jordan Caroline - NEV ($8,700 FD Only)

Eric Paschall - NOVA ($8,100 DK / $7,900 FD)

Kouat Noi - TCU ($6,500 DK / $6,900 FD)

Kenny Wooten - ORE ($4,800 DK Only)


Example Lineup on DraftKings:

G: Tremont Waters, LSU - $8,600

G: Kaleb Joseph, CRE - $3,400

G: Lindy Waters III, OKST - $6,500

F: John Mooney, ND - $9,000

F: Reggie Perry, MSU - $5,400

F: Kenny Wooten, ORE - $4,800

U: William Jackson II, UGA - $4,200

U: Eric Paschall, NOVA - $8,100

Example Lineup on FanDuel:

G: Tremont Waters, LSU - $8,800

G: Kaleb Joseph, CRE - $3,700

G: William Jackson II, UGA - $4,800

G: James Akinjo, GTWN - $7,000

F: Bruno Fernando, UMD - $8,100

F: Reggie Perry, MSU - $5,200

F: Abdoulaye Gueye, GT - $5,500

U: Lindy Waters III, OKST - $6,600