THE SLATE (Odds & Totals via DraftKings Sportsbook):
- 6:30 pm ET -- Texas at Seton Hall (-1) -- 133.5 o/u
- 7 pm ET -- Purdue (-12.5) at Rutgers -- 138.5 o/u
- 8:30 pm ET -- Monmouth at St. John’s (-8.5) -- 154 o/u (DK Only)
- 9 pm ET -- Merrimack at Gonzaga (-32) -- 137.5 o/u (DK Only)
- 9 pm ET -- Iowa (-5) at Iowa State -- 152 o/u
Top KenPom Projected Team Totals
- Gonzaga -- 82
- St. John’s -- 79
- Iowa -- 77
- Purdue -- 76
- Iowa State -- 74
- Monmouth -- 70
Top Guards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Julian Champagnie | STJN | MONM | 8600 | 40.47 | |||
| On DK, Champagnie and St. John’s headline the slate in a high-total and uptempo game against an easier opponent in Monmouth. The junior wing is as good as it gets for DFS with a safe 35+ floor and a legit 50+ ceiling with consistent stat-stuffing ability. We also don’t really have to worry about a blowout here because Champagnie and Co. aren’t even double-digit favorites. Should be popular in cash. | |||||||
| Jaden Ivey | PUR | RU | 8100 | 32.19 | 7500 | 30.09 | |
| If Purdue is in action, then Ivey is once again a top guard for DFS for both cash or GPP. Though there’s some risk here with it being the Boilermakers’ first road game of the season, it might not matter for a guy that’s going to be an NBA lottery pick. The price tags still seem a bit too cheap on both sites for someone that can give you 40+ DFS points when he’s on. | |||||||
| Ron Harper Jr. | RU | PUR | 7500 | 32.78 | 7400 | 29.74 | |
| Harper busted our lineups last time out with just 10 DK and one of the worst games of his career. However, we should see a bounce back effort tonight at home with Purdue coming to town. Harper will have to be much better if Rutgers wants to keep this one close and we can expect him to be active as a scorer, passer and rebounder to stuff the stat sheet. It’s also worth noting his drastic home/road splits as he’s averaging 38.4 DK at home compared to 23.5 DK on the road. | |||||||
| Izaiah Brockington | ISU | IOWA | 6300 | 30.06 | 6600 | 26.70 | |
| If you want some Iowa State exposure to this higher-scoring matchup, it’s either Brockington or Tyrese Hunter at the top end. Brockington gets the slight nod for me because he’s familiar with facing Iowa from his days at Penn State and won’t shy away from this matchup. Plus, the senior leads ISU in shots share and has had better performances vs. tougher competition this season than Hunter. He and the Cyclones get a pace-boost tonight. | |||||||
| Posh Alexander | STJN | MONM | 6600 | 33.11 | |||
| Though Champagnie is the better overall play from St. John’s, don’t overlook Alexander at $2000 cheaper on DK. His DFS floor is pretty safe while running the point in an uptempo attack and he’s been good for 30-40 DK points against low-major teams this season. You can stack up both him and Champagnie in the same lineup and feel pretty good about it, or play Alexander on his own and possibly get the similar production as Champagnie - though his ceiling isn’t as high. | |||||||
Other Top Guards to Consider:
- Jared Rhoden -- Seton Hall ($7,600 DK / $8,100 FD)
- Julian Strawther -- Gonzaga ($7,200 DK Only)
- Tyrese Hunter -- Iowa State ($6,100 DK / $5,700 FD)
Value Guards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Dylan Addae-Wusu | STJN | MONM | 5800 | 22.34 | |||
| The sophomore moved into the starting lineup last game in Stef Smith’s backcourt spot and went wild for 42 DK. He’s now strung together four straight solid DFS and real-life performances and it’s resulted in a starting role for St. John’s. The price increase may be tough to swallow in cash, but he’s interesting in GPP with people looking at Champagnie & Alexander instead. | |||||||
| Shavar Reynolds Jr. | MONM | STJN | 5400 | 23.66 | |||
| The Seton Hall transfer is now the best player at Monmouth, leading the team in usage rate and shots share while hitting 40.7% from three. Though George Papas might be more popular on this slate, Reynolds gets the nod for me because we won’t back down from this matchup after facing St. John’s multiple times over the last four years. Reynolds and Co. will benefit from a big pace-boost tonight too. | |||||||
| Tony Perkins | IOWA | ISU | 4300 | 16.25 | 5100 | 15.27 | |
| The Iowa rotation is still sorting itself out, but Perkins has quickly emerged as one of the team’s best scorers not named Keegan Murray. The sophomore is coming off two impressive scoring performances with 14 and 16 real points over the last two games against Purdue and Illinois, respectively. Though he’s a bit scoring dependent for DFS, there’s clear value in the 5k range and below. | |||||||
| Isaiah Thompson | PUR | RU | 4000 | 11.78 | 4100 | 10.34 | |
| Though he only sees 20 minutes or fewer, Thompson can easily hit value with his three-point shooting tonight. He’s draining 60% from deep so far (14-for-23) and should get some open looks with Rutgers’ defenders keying in on the Ivey/Williams/Edey combo more often than not. Plus, RU hasn’t defended the perimeter well this year. | |||||||
Other Value Guards to Consider:
- Montez Mathis -- St. John’s ($5,600 DK Only)
- George Papas -- Monmouth ($5,500 DK Only)
- Gabe Kalscheur -- Iowa State ($5,400 DK / $5,600 FD)
- Bryce Aiken -- Seton Hall ($4,300 DK / $5,300 FD)
- Nolan Hickman -- Gonzaga ($4,200 DK Only)
Top Forwards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Chet Holmgren | GONZ | MERRI | 9200 | 34.31 | |||
| When Gonzaga is in action, it’s always a decision of whether to play Holmgren, Timme or risk it with neither one. When the Zags have faced easier opponents with a blowout expected, it’s Holmgren who’s usually been the better DFS option - and vice versa with Timme against tougher teams. So for tonight against a subpar Merrimack squad with their tallest player being 6-foot-8 - expect Holmgren’s talent and length to take over. | |||||||
| Keegan Murray | IOWA | ISU | 7900 | 43.5 | 8500 | 41.66 | |
| Murray returned earlier this week from a one-game absence and went right back to being Iowa’s top offensive option with 19 points and 31 DK vs. Illinois. We might not see regular 40+ DK from him like earlier in the year against easier opponents, but Murray’s floor is pretty locked in as the team’s go-to right now. He should have more success on both ends against Iowa State’s smaller frontcourt. | |||||||
| Timmy Allen | UT | SHU | 7800 | 25.29 | 5700 | 23.51 | |
| Unfortunately it’s hard to get a good read on Allen or the Longhorn players for DFS purposes because they’ve only played one tough opponent thus far with the rest being blowouts. In that one competitive matchup vs. Gonzaga, though, Allen led the way for Texas with 18 points and 32 DK. While the Seton Hall defense is pretty good, it’s one weakness is inside where both Hunter Dickinson and E.J. Liddell put up big numbers. Over on FD, Allen is a huge value and close to a lock play. | |||||||
| Trevion Williams | PUR | RU | 7700 | 29.28 | 7600 | 26.76 | |
| Both Williams and Zach Edey continue to be risky cash plays because they split the center minutes right down the middle and unfortunately take away from each other. However, they’re high-upside GPP options as both have the talent to dominate the game in those 20 minutes apiece. If we’re comparing them head-to-head, Williams gets the slight bump with a more upside - like when he had 43 DK with 18 rebounds last time out vs. Iowa. | |||||||
Other Top Forwards to Consider:
- Drew Timme -- Gonzaga ($8,000 DK Only)
- Zach Edey -- Purdue ($7,300 DK / $7,300 FD)
Value Forwards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Caleb Furst | PUR | RU | 5500 | 20.53 | 5300 | 19.12 | |
| Furst continues to be an affordable way to get exposure to Purdue. Though he only had 11 DK last time out, the freshman power forward usually has a decent floor of 18-20 DFS points or more with his rebounding and just enough scoring. People may overlook him because of the dud last time out, but he can easily bounce back to return value in GPPs. | |||||||
| Patrick McCaffery | IOWA | ISU | 5100 | 19.36 | 4800 | 18.51 | |
| McCaffery is becoming a regular occurrence in the playbook if Iowa is on the slate. Though he “only” put up 14 DK last time out, the guy is still seeing double-digit shot attempts and is one of the team’s more reliable scorers at this point. He’s not far removed from having 19 and 25 DK vs. Virginia and Purdue, respectively, and could easily return 5x value tonight. | |||||||
| Walker Miller | MONM | STJN | 5000 | 28.47 | |||
| Don’t overlook Monmouth on the DK slate with a major pace-boost coming vs. St. John’s. Miller is another cheap way to get a piece of this game. After spending four years riding the bench at North Carolina, the 6-foot-11 center is now at Monmouth and one of their best players. He should have tons of rebounding opportunities and will be on the floor for 30+ minutes. It’s a decent value in cash if you’re looking to stack up this game. | |||||||
| George Conditt IV | ISU | IOWA | 4500 | 16.97 | 4700 | 15.41 | |
| Conditt is a bit too cheap at sub-5k on both sites for being Iowa State’s starting center. In a pace-boost spot tonight, his team-leading offensive rebounding rate will certainly come in handy against an Iowa squad that’s struggled on the defensive glass this season. There’s a path for him to put up 20 DK or so and be a solid salary-saver. | |||||||
Other Value Forwards to Consider:
- Jordan Minor -- Merrimack ($5,300 DK Only)
- Tray Jackson -- Seton Hall ($4,800 DK / $5,000 FD)
DraftKings Core Plays
- Julian Champagnie -- St. John’s ($8,600)
- Keegan Murray -- Iowa ($7,900)
- Walker Miller -- Monmouth ($5,000)
FanDuel Core Plays
- Timmy Allen -- Texas ($5,700)
- Jaden Ivey -- Purdue ($7,500)
- Ron Harper Jr. -- Rutgers ($7,400)