THE SLATE (All times Eastern)

  • 12p - Purdue @ Butler (-15.5) 132.5 O/U FD Only
  • 1p - Texas Tech (-8.5) @ Gonzaga 147.0 O/U FD Only
  • 2:30p - Notre Dame @ Indiana (-4.0) 137.0 O/U 
  • 4p - Georgia Tech @ USC (-8.5) 134.5 O/U
  • 4p - Marquette @ Xavier (-10.5) O/U
  • 5p - West Virginia @ UAB (-2.5) 134.5 O/U
  • 5p - Providence @ Connecticut (-6.5) 137.0 O/U
  • 7p - Louisiana Tech @ LSU (-10.5) 145.0 O/U DK Only
  • 7p - Houston (-9.5) @ Oklahoma State 135.0 O/U DK Only
     

HIGHEST IMPLIED TEAM SCORES

  • Xavier - 80.25
  • LSU - 77.75 DK
  • Texas Tech - 77.75 FD
  • Houston - 72.25 DK
  • UCONN - 71.75
  • USC - 71.25
  • Indiana - 70.50
  • Marquette - 69.75
  • Gonzaga - 69.25 FD
  • UAB - 68.00

 

TOP GUARDS

Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech) Opp @USC ($8.5K DK/$8.0K FD) Devoe is coming off his worst game of the season -- a loss to LSU. But the senior lefty is in the middle of a real strong stretch of basketball. He leads the ACC in scoring (22.1) while shooting a crazy 53.2% from the three-point line. One of the top combo guards in the nation, Devoe uses his 3-point shooting and passing vision to create offense for the Yellow Jackets. His 66.7% off-dribble jump shots rank first nationally among players with 30+ attempts. Devoe is in play in all formats.

RJ Cole (Connecticut) Opp PROV ($7.1K DK/$7.2K FD)

Cole has been the alpha of this Husky squad with a 24% usage, 26% shot, 24.7% assist and 2.9% steal rate. He will play 30+ minutes and has had over 30 DKFP in four of his last five games. UCONN has the fourth highest implied team total in a pace up game against Providence, making Cole a play in both cash and GPPs.

Jordan Walker (UAB) Opp WVU ($7.0K DK/$7.9K FD)

Walker has been around with first starting his career at Seton Hall, then transferring to Tulane and now, is the leading scorer for UAB. The 5’11” guard has been a do-it-all this season with a 32.3% usage, 31.7 shot, 32.7% assist and 3.7% steal. These are elite numbers and UAB is favored at home against West Virginia.

Jamal Shead (Houston) Opp @OKST ($5.8K DK) 

Shead took over the starting job from Taze Moore back on November 24th and hasn’t looked back. Besides a blowout game, Shead has played 30 minutes every game with three of the five being over 30DKFP. Marcus Sasser is expected back from turf toe, but I wouldn’t worry about Shead’s minutes being cute -- he’s earned a spot as a main player on a very good team
 

Other Top Guards to Consider:

  • Jaden Ivey (PUR) $7.5K FD
  • Marcus Sasser (HOU) $8.3K GPP *check status
  • Jordan Usher (GT) $6.8K DK/7.4K FD
  • Drew Peterson (USC) $6.4K DK/6.1K FD
  • Dane Goodwin (ND) $5.5K DK/6.1K FD


 

TOP VALUE GUARDS

Blake Wesley (Notre Dame) Opp @IU ($4.3K DK/$5.9K FD)

The freshman has broken into Notre Dame’s starting lineup and has already turned into the teams go-to guy. He is now running the team and had the game winning jumper in last Saturday’s big upset over then #10 Kentucky. When you have a player that is going to get you 26+ minutes with a 30% usage and shot rate at only $4,300 on DK, you take it and run.

Eric Gaines (LSU) Opp LT ($3.6K DK)

Gaines doesn’t start but the sophomore has a nice floor making him a solid cash value today. He won’t win you a GPP but will give you 25+ minutes on the floor and averages 20.06 DKFP and has never gone below 19.5 fantasy points this season. Take his 25% assist, 3.7% block and 3.6% steal rates, and $3,600 looks appealing today as a value.

Akok Akok G/F (Connecticut) Opp PROV ($3.7K DK)

Akok’s playing time today is dependent on Adama Sanogo’s status. Sanogo has missed three straight games with an abdominal injury and Coach Dan Hurley has only said that he “has not been ruled out.” If Sanogo misses again Akok is firmly in play as he has done a splendid job filling in, averaging eight points and seven rebounds at 29 minutes over the last three games.

 

Other Guard Values to Consider:

  • Taze Moore (UH) $4.9K DK *upgrade if Sasser out
  • Xavier Johnson (IU) $5.6K DK/5.5K FD *sneaky GPP play if he stays out of foul trouble
  • Bryce Williams (OKST) $4.8K DK
  • Adam Kunkel (XAV) $3.4K DK/5.2K FD
  • Down Odom (XAV) $3.2K DK/5.4K FD
  • Darryl Morsell (MARQ) $5.2K FD

 

TOP FORWARDS

Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana) Opp ND ($8.4K DK/8.3K FD)

TJD is elite and should be considered for a core play on every slate. The junior forward is averaging a career-high of 19.3 points (22.4 points per 40 mins) and 1.6 assists plus has seen his block numbers jump from 1.4 last year to now 3.4 a game. Jackson-Davis broke the Assembly Hall scoring record with 43 points against Marshall at the end of November and could even challenge that today against a weak Notre Dame interior.

Darius Days/Tari Eason (LSU) Opp LTECH ($7.3K DK/$7.6K DK)

The Tigers have snuck up on the entire nation and remain undefeated going into a game this afternoon where they are comfortable 10-point favorites with the second highest team implied total of the slate. Days and Eason are having very similar seasons and remain similarly priced. Days probably is the safer cash game play as he averages nearly 30 minutes a game with a 14.6-point average, a team leading 7.8 rebounds per game and a 28.2% shot rate. 

Eason, a transfer from Cincinnati, still hasn’t seemed to have been unleashed yet as he hasn’t even started a game and only averages 22 minutes per contest. But he is still one of the top GPP plays of the slate as he leads the team in scoring at 15.8 points and fantasy points at 32.5 plus is running a 29% usage and 30% shot rate.

Justin Lewis (Marquette) Opp @XAV ($6.8K DK/$7.5K FD)

This won’t be an easy matchup with a strong Xavier interior, but Lewis has already shown that he can’t be intimidated by good defenses. He has been fantastic over his last three games - UCLA (27.8 DK); Kansas State (43.3 DK) and Wisconsin (21.0 DK) and all three are top shelf defenses. Lewis has three double-doubles on the season, and he came one rebound short in each of the last two games so he will pretty much give you a safe floor every night.

Race Thompson (Indiana) Opp ND ($6.5K DK/$7.3K FD)

Thompson and TJD should eat today against a soft Notre Dame interior. You can play them together or use Thompson as a leverage pivot from a popular TJD in GPPs. With a combined rebounding rate of 33% (10.5% offensive where we may see a lot of put backs) Thompson is averaging nearly a double-double per game with a 10.6 ppg. and 8.9 rpg. 


 

Other Top Forwards to Consider:

  • Isaiah Mobley (USC) $8.8K DK/8.9K FD * GPP pivot off TJD
  • Kenneth Lofton (LT) $7.5K DK
  • Zach Freemantle (XAV) $6.8K DK/6.5K FD *still GPP only due to minutes
  • Jack Nunge (XAV) $6.7K DK/$7.4K FD
  • Chevez Goodwin (USC) $6.0K DK/5.8K FD


 

TOP FORWARD VALUES

Khalid Moore (Georgia Tech) Opp @USC ($3.0K DK/$4.3K FD)

Moore is not going to score more than 15 fantasy points for you- even though he did put up 13 real points and 26.8 DKFP against North Carolina last week. You are playing him for the minutes and the bare minimum $3K on DraftKings. Moore starts every game and has been playing 30 minutes so he should make value today in a matchup against a tough USC defense.

Kur Kuath (Marquette) @XAV ($3.6K DK/$5.4K FD)

Kuath is having a solid season for Marquette as he starts every game and give them a strong 20 minutes per contest. The Oklahoma transfer has scored at least 18DKFP in every game this season besides the opener and most of those fantasy points come from a 24% combined rebounding rate and 14.7% block rate. Xavier interior is very good, but Kuath should be able to put up enough peripheral stats today to make value off a low salary. 

 

Other Forward Values to Consider:

  • Akok Akok G/F (UCONN) $3.7K DK/5.8K FD * see notes at Guard- a lock if Sanogo is out
  • Greg Elliot (MARQ) $3.0K DK
  • David Green (LT) $3.4K DK
  • Ty Groce (BUT) $4.8K FD


 

DRAFTKINGS CORE

  • Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
  • Darius Days (LSU)
  • Blake Wesley (Notre Dame) Value
     

FANDUEL CORE 

  • Trayce Jackson-Davis (Indiana)
  • Michael Devoe (Georgia Tech) 
  • Chevez Goodwin (USC)