Saturday college basketball is back with tons of meaningful conference matchups as we near March Madness!

The main slate today tips at 12 pm ET with 11 different Top 25 teams in action. DraftKings and FanDuel both have massive 14-game slates - each conveniently include the same matchups as the other.

One thing to keep in mind for these larger Saturday slates with bigger player pools than usual - the margin for error is a bit different than on the three or four-game tilts. There’s a larger top-tier of players than usual today - creating a tougher chance to cash. If you miss out on a stud who goes off, you can easily make back those points if you hit on a different top-tier player. BUT if your expensive players go bust, you could find yourself in a bigger hole than usual because the majority of entries likely had one of their own smash value.

This deeper player pool also stresses the importance of value plays. Due to the larger number of expensive options we want some exposure to, we need to find those cheap players who can return 4x or 5x value. Now, you can afford to have these plays to bust once in a while - but only if your studs have good games and you’re not trying to win the bigger GPP contests.

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:

  • Miami @ North Carolina - 12 pm ET (UNC -17 / 157 Implied Total)

  • Oklahoma State @ Kansas - 12 pm ET (KU -13 / 141 Implied Total)

  • Mississippi @ Georgia - 1 pm ET (MISS -2 / 152 Implied Total)

  • Auburn @ LSU - 2 pm ET (LSU -1 / 159 Implied Total)

 

Games To Fade:

  • Wisconsin @ Michigan - 12 pm ET (MICH -6 / 118 Implied Total)

  • Virginia Tech @ Clemson - 12 pm ET (VT -2 / 132 Implied Total)

  • Minnesota @ Michigan State - 2 pm ET (MSU -15 / 145 Implied Total)

 

Guards

Tremont Waters - LSU ($8,600 DK / $8,300 FD) - Whether he’s scoring, assisting or stealing the ball, Waters has emerged as one of the top playmakers in the SEC lately. Over the last ten games, he’s averaged 40+ DK points with monster performances of 55 and 47 DK points in two of the last three outings. His pure scoring can be a little inconsistent, but the ceiling may be one of the highest of the guard position today. Against Auburn in one of the slate’s highest-scoring games, expect Waters to have one of those big-time games again with the upside to either score 30 real points, dish out 10 assists or rack up five steals - or do all three for that matter. The expensive price may limit him to GPP lineups, but he could 5x this salary - something he’s done five times in the last ten games.

Breein Tyree - MISS ($7,100 DK / $7,700 FD) - For much of the season, it’s been Tyree and Terence Davis headlining the Ole Miss offense - but Tyree has been on a scoring tear lately at a cheaper price on both sites. Davis is always in play with a really high ceiling, but his high price on DK is tough to fit in ideal lineups - keep in mind that both are priced similarly on FD today. Meanwhile, Tyree is $1,200 cheaper on DK with a higher floor than usual because of his recent scoring streak. He’s scored 20+ in four straight games and a good mix of assists, steals, blocks and rebounds in each of the last two outings allowed him to reach 34+ DK points in those games. In one of the higher-scoring games on today’s slate, expect Tyree and Davis to be shooting a ton as they try to pull out the road win vs. Georgia.

Devon Dotson - KU ($6,000 DK / $6,300 FD) - What was once a crowded guard position for Kansas is now depleted and searching for production. The Jayhawks will be without both Marcus Garrett (ankle) and Lagerald Vick (personal) today, leaving Dotson and Co. to pick up the slack offensively. Even with Vick in the lineup lately, Dotson and Dedric Lawson have become the focal points of the offense - Dotson has 5x-ed his current salary in each of the last two games with performances of 35.25 and 32.75 DK points. With Vick now out, there’s 5-10 shots up for grabs in Kansas’ offense and Dotson is the most likely candidate to handle the bigger workload offensively. Look for Ochai Agbaji, Quentin Grimes and Charlie Moore to get an increase in minutes and usage as well.

Jordan Chatman - BC ($5,500 DK / $6,000 FD) - Everyone knows by now the best way to beat Syracuse’s zone defense is through the three-point shot. Enter Jordan Chatman - Boston College’s best three-point shooter outside of stud Ky Bowman. In the first meeting between these teams just last week, Chatman hit 4-of-12 from deep and scored 21 real points. The senior doesn’t offer much upside in ancillary stats outside of scoring, but he’s been more effective with his shots lately. In the last six games, Chatman is averaging 17.8 PPG on 45.3% from the field and 50% from three-point range. He’ll certainly see double-double shots today as one of the only Boston College players (besides Bowman) who can confidently break ‘Cuse’s zone.

Jordan Harris - UGA ($4,300 DK / $5,700 FD) - After missing two games for a concussion, Harris looks fully back to normal and even re-entered Georgia’s starting rotation Wednesday. He’s played 24 and 26 minutes in each of the last two games and posted 29 and 19 DK points in those outings, respectively. Obviously his DK price is more attractive today, but he has the upside to return value on FD if he gets the start again - which he should, considering he had started the previous two games before getting hurt. Tom Crean lineups are always risky to predict, but Harris was consistently getting 20+ points off the bench before cracking the lineup for two games before getting hurt. On a slate with minimal value options, Harris could be the guy to lock in to be able to pay up for the studs today.

Other Guards to Consider:

  • Phil Booth - NOVA ($8,000 DK / $8,000 FD)

  • Jared Wilson-Frame - PITT ($5,500 DK / $6,500 FD)

  • Ochai Agbaji - KU ($5,100 DK / $5,800 FD)

  • Wabissa Bede - VT ($4,100 DK / $5,100 FD)

 

Forwards

Dedric Lawson - KU ($9,800 DK / $9,000 FD) - The absence of Lagerald Vick today should bring a big change to the Kansas offense. Vick was the Jayhawks’ best three-point shooter for much of this season and a nice outside threat to take pressure of Lawson in the post. Lawson was already getting large usage and shot volume, but he should get an increase in both categories today as Kansas likely goes heavy with the high-low game between him and Devon Dotson at the point. The high price may scare people off for cash games, but Lawson presents a nice GPP play as this is actually his cheapest salary in over a month. Over the last five games, the junior is averaging 42.8 DK points with two separate 20-point, 15-rebound outings. He might need to have a similar performance today if the Jayhawks wants to win this game short-handed and get off the losing train they’ve been on lately.

Luke Maye - UNC ($8,200 DK / $8,400 FD) - Maye has been a little inconsistent offensively in conference play, but a favorable matchup at home today makes him one of the top plays on both sites in a tough forward position to project. Don’t expect Maye to duplicate the 53 DK points from Tuesday’s matchup vs. NC State - he has dominated the in-state rival for much of his career. Still, you can expect a similar performance from what he did to Miami in this season’s previous meeting. In last month’s game, Maye put up 34 DK points with a line of 14 points, nine rebounds, four assists and two steals vs. Miami on the road. Considering the increase in shots and usage over his last two outings, there’s upside for Maye to eclipse 40 or more DFS points as well - the senior has gotten 15+ shot attempts in both games and is drawing fouls at a higher rate. Plus, Miami is one of the worst rebounding teams in the ACC and Maye will bring in his team-leading 34.4% rebound rate with double-doubles in his last two games.

Naz Reid - LSU ($6,500 DK / $7,600 FD) - Reid makes for an attractive play today as Auburn has been a team we’ve liked to target bigs against lately with Austin Wiley missing five games last month. Although Wiley is back, it’s in a limited role as he only played five minutes in his return - plus, Auburn could be without Chuma Okeke today as well as he’s questionable to suit up with a hip injury. This is setting up nicely for Reid, who’s started to become one of the focal points in the LSU offense. He broke out against Mississippi State last time out for 29 points, nine boards, two assists, a block and a steal for 46.75 DK points. The game before, Reid had a double-double and 36 DK points. His price is clearly more affordable on DK today, but he’s a nice GPP option over on FD as well.

Reggie Perry - MSST ($6,000 DK / $6,100 FD) - Since taking over Aric Holman’s spot in the starting lineup two games ago, Perry has been a beast for Mississippi State. The freshman posted a double-double and at least 39 DK points in both those outings as the starting power forward and should get a third straight start today over his senior teammate. The matchup vs. Kentucky is a tough one as Reid Travis and PJ Washington are tough to handle down low - but Perry can still return value as he’s seeing a large amount of usage lately in his new role. In those two starts, Perry logged 34 and 36 minutes, respectively, and repeatedly got touches in the post as a nice complement to the shooting abilities of the Weatherspoon brothers on the outside. His touches have been productive, too, as he put up a combined 24 shots/free throws in each game as he was mostly having his way with opposing bigs.

Other Forwards to Consider:

  • PJ Washington - UK ($7,800 DK / $8,000 FD)

  • Josh LeBlanc - GTWN ($6,100 DK / $7,300 FD)

  • Saddiq Bey - NOVA ($5,400 DK / $6,200 FD)

  • Yor Anei - OKST ($4,600 DK / $6,100 FD)

 

Example Lineup on DraftKings:

G: Tremont Waters, LSU - $8,600

G: Devon Dotson, KU - $6,000

G: Jordan Chatman, BC - $5,500

F: Luke Maye, UNC - $8,200

F: Naz Reid, LSU - $6,500

F: Yor Anei, OKST - $4,600

U: Jared Wilson-Frame, PITT - $5,500

U: Ochai Agbaji, KU - $5,100

 

Example Lineup on FanDuel:

G: Jordan Harris, UGA - $5,700

G: Devon Dotson, KU - $6,300

G: Jordan Chatman, BC - $6,000

G: Wabissa Bede, VT - $5,100

F: Luke Maye, UNC - $8,400

F: Reggie Perry, MSST - $6,100

F: Yor Anei, OKST - $6,100

U: Saddiq Bey, NOVA - $6,200