NOTE: This Playbook is only for the DraftKings main slate beginning at 12 pm ET on Saturday, Jan. 8th
THE SLATE (Odds & Totals via DraftKings Sportsbook)
- 12 pm ET -- South Carolina at Vanderbilt (-5) -- 138 O/U
- 12 pm ET -- Connecticut at Seton Hall (-3.5) -- 138 O/U
- 12 pm ET -- Purdue (-9.5) at Penn State -- 138 O/U
- 12 pm ET -- Clemson at NC State (-1) -- 144.5 O/U
- 12 pm ET -- St. John’s at Providence (-4) -- 146 O/U
- 1 pm ET -- Virginia at North Carolina (-6) -- 132 O/U
- 1 pm ET -- Arkansas at Texas A&M (-1) -- 144.5 O/U
- 2 pm ET -- Kansas State at West Virginia (-8) -- 131 O/U
- 2 pm ET -- Texas (-3.5) at Oklahoma State -- 127.5 O/U
- 2 pm ET -- Syracuse at Wake Forest (-4) -- 155 O/U
- 2 pm ET -- Villanova (-7.5) at DePaul -- 135.5 O/U
- 2:30 pm ET -- Michigan State at Michigan (-2.5) -- 142.5 O/U
Top KenPom Projected Team Totals
- Wake Forest -- 82
- Syracuse -- 77
- Providence -- 77
- Clemson -- 75
- Texas A&M -- 75
- Purdue -- 74
- Arkansas -- 73
- Villanova -- 73
- NC State -- 72
- Seton Hall -- 72
- Michigan -- 72
Top Guards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Julian Champagnie | STJN | PROV | 9700 | 42.3 | |||
| He’s mighty expensive but that’s the price you have to pay for one of the best floor/ceiling combos in DFS CBB this season. Case in point: Champagnie put up 64 DK with an insane stat line of 34 points and 16 rebounds last game despite sitting out the previous contest due to COVID protocols. He’s got a realistic floor of 35+ DK and is always a safe play. | |||||||
| Alondes Williams | WAKE | SYR | 8800 | 38.78 | |||
| This matchup vs. Syracuse is the highest total on the slate so, naturally, we have to consider Wake’s offensive catalyst as a top overall play. Williams is essentially a lock for 30+ DK with his heavy usage rate and shot volume, but there’s upside for more against the shaky Cuse defense - especially if Williams can hit some three’s. | |||||||
| Buddy Boeheim | SYR | WAKE | 7800 | 31.3 | |||
| Getting multiple pieces of the Wake/Syracuse matchup isn’t a bad strategy, but Boeheim is perfectly fine on his own as well. If he starts getting hot from deep, the Orange star can easily put up 35-40 DK points or more in this high-total environment that’ll be uptempo on both ends. The only risk is that Boeheim is on the road where he shoots a bit less efficiently. | |||||||
| Scotty Pippen Jr. | VAND | SCAR | 7500 | 29.88 | |||
| Vandy gets a pace-boost spot here vs. South Carolina and Pippen Jr. benefits a ton as the team’s offensive star. Though he doesn’t offer much in ancillary stats, his heavy shot volume and usage should lead to a good performance on par with his normal 20 points scored and 30 DK. His floor isn’t as good as others on the slate, but Pippen Jr. is still a fine cash option. | |||||||
| Collin Gillespie | VU | DPU | 7000 | 29.13 | |||
| Villanova is another team with a pace-boost today. Gillespie is always a top DFS play if Nova is on the slate, but he’s bound to take on even more offensive responsibility with Justin Moore possibly sidelined or limited with his hamstring injury. If that’s the case, Gillespie would be a top overall play in cash. | |||||||
Other Top Guards to Consider:
- Derean Seabron -- NC State ($9,000 DK)
- JD Notae -- Arkansas ($8,500 DK)
- David Collins -- Clemson ($7,700 DK)
- Jaden Ivey -- Purdue ($7,600 DK)
Value Guards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Dylan Addae-Wusu | STJN | PROV | 5300 | 23.71 | |||
| Even though Addae-Wusu just put up 35 DK last game, he’s still pretty affordable and brings along a nice floor as well with plenty of ancillary stat production. Ever since he entered the starting lineup in early December, Addae-Wusu has been one of the Johnnies’ best players. With how uptempo St. John’s games usually go, playing one or two players from the matchup isn’t a bad idea in cash with plenty of DFS value to go around. | |||||||
| Al-Amir Dawes | CLEM | NCST | 5300 | 20.16 | |||
| Clemson’s tight rotation keeps all their starters in play on this slate, but Dawes has a solid floor/ceiling combo for a cheap price tag - especially in a slight pace-boost here. Dawes’ 41% three-point shooting gives him some upside against an NC State defense that’s struggled to stop the deep ball. | |||||||
| Jared Bynum | PROV | STJN | 5300 | 19.36 | |||
| Bynum is another player who gets a pace-boost against the uptempo St. John’s squad. Targeting opposing point guards in this matchup usually results in a solid cash DFS performance and Bynum doesn’t cost us much. The senior has looked good since returning from injury in mid-December and he finally re-entered the starting lineup last time out. | |||||||
| Caleb Daniels | VU | DPU | 4900 | 17.29 | |||
| Daniels is back from a one-game COVID absence and could get the start if Justin Moore is out (questionable with hamstring injury). Daniels started all last season for Nova so this wouldn’t be something new for him, despite coming off the bench so far this year. He’d step into a bigger offensive role with Moore out, which raises his floor to a safe cash level. | |||||||
| Kihei Clark | UV | UNC | 4800 | 21.14 | |||
| Usually we ignore Virginia players for DFS because of their low total games, but they get a pace-boost environment here against North Carolina. As UVA’s senior point guard, Clark is a bit too cheap for someone who can easily give you 20-25 DK in this uptempo matchup. | |||||||
Other Value Guards to Consider:
- Sean McNeil -- West Virginia ($5,400 DK)
- A.J. Hoggard -- Michigan State ($4,900 DK)
- Jalen Terry -- DePaul ($4,600 DK)
- Rodney Chatman -- Vanderbilt ($4,300 DK)
Top Forwards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Armando Bacot | UNC | UV | 9300 | 36.68 | |||
| People may avoid Bacot at his expensive price tag in a slower-paced matchup against the tough UVA defense, but he has the floor/ceiling combo to be just fine in any format. He’s now recorded a double-double in five straight games with 40+ DK in four straight. Bacot is simply a force in the paint on both ends and his high rebounding rate and usually safe shot volume keeps his floor high. | |||||||
| Zach Edey | PUR | PSU | 8700 | 29.62 | |||
| Even though he’s coming off the bench now with Trevion Williams starting, Edey is still seeing extremely heavy usage in his 20 minutes or so on the court. That role as Purdue’s go-to offensive option when on the floor gives Edey a safe DFS floor with upside for much more when opposing frontcourts get into foul trouble or struggle to defend his size. Penn State’s frontcourt doesn’t pose much of a threat. | |||||||
| Hunter Dickinson | MICH | MSU | 8400 | 32.81 | |||
| If Michigan wants to turn their season around, it’ll have to be on the back on Dickinson starting today in a rivalry matchup vs. Michigan State. Who knows if the Wolverines will win this one or not, but we can count on Dickinson seeing heavy offensive usage and shot volume to anchor cash lineups. | |||||||
| Jake LaRavia | WAKE | SYR | 8300 | 31.31 | |||
| The Wake attack heavily revolves around Alondes Williams and LaRavia, so both are firmly in play in this high-total matchup vs. Syracuse. Though LaRavia doesn’t offer much upside in terms of three-point shooting, his DFS floor is pretty solid - which has appropriately resulted in a price increase since putting up 36 DK earlier this week. | |||||||
| Jayden Gardner | UV | UNC | 7100 | 27.89 | |||
| UNC has struggled to defend opposing bigs all season and that bodes well for Gardner here. Not to mention it’s a major pace-boost matchup for UVA in general, but Gardner will benefit a ton as the team’s top offensive option more often than not today. The price differential compared to other high-priced forwards could make him a popular cash play. | |||||||
Other Top Forwards to Consider:
- PJ Hall -- Clemson ($7,700 DK)
- Cole Swider -- Syracuse ($6,400 DK)
- Jermaine Samuels -- Villanova ($6,200 DK)
Value Forwards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG | |
| Isaiah Mucius | WAKE | SYR | 5000 | 18.33 | |||
| How about a cheap way to get exposure to the slate’s highest total? You can target the Wake squad again here with Mucius, who’s plenty affordable for the real possibility at 20-25 DK points. There’s upside for even more, too, with Mucius’ team-leading 40% three-point shooting against Syracuse’s zone defense. | |||||||
| Tyrece Radford | TA&M | ARK | 4900 | 19.66 | |||
| Unfortunately Texas A&M runs a deep rotation, making it hard to fully trust any one guy with the real-life and DFS production spread out. Radford, though, is a decent bargain with the chance at 4x or 5x return in a pace-boost matchup vs. Arkansas while playing the most minutes per game of all the A&M starters. | |||||||
| Greg Lee | PSU | PUR | 4000 | 14.25 | |||
| Since recently returning from a foot injury, Lee has now started the last two games and it’s coincidentally resulted in PSU wins in both. Expect him to stick amongst the starters for now, especially since his size will be needed more in this matchup vs. Purdue’s taller rotation. He put up 20 DK in 29 minutes last game and we’ll take that all day at this cheap price. | |||||||
| Ed Croswell | PROV | STJN | 3900 | 12.42 | |||
| Croswell is getting more playing time and a role increase in Providence’s rotation with AJ Reeves out at least another game today. Last game, he had 21 DK with 11 points scored in 18 minutes off the bench with Reeves out. We can expect a bit more production than that in a pace-boost spot here vs. St. John’s where there should be plenty of opportunities at rebounds. | |||||||
Other Value Forwards to Consider:
- Moussa Diabate -- Michigan ($5,400 DK)
- Khadim Sy -- Wake Forest ($4,800 DK)
- Quentin Millora-Brown -- Vanderbilt ($4,800 DK)
- Aaron Wheeler -- St. John’s ($4,000 DK)
DraftKings Core Plays
- Collin Gillespie -- Villanova ($7,000)
- Jayden Gardner -- Virginia ($7,100)
- Jared Bynum -- Providence ($5,300)
- Alondes Williams -- Wake Forest ($8,800)