College Basketball DFS Playbook & Core Plays March 14: Top DraftKings & FanDuel CBB DFS Picks
The 2023 NCAA Tournament is finally here and we have a pair of First Four games headlining the Tuesday night CBB DFS picks. There's Mississippi State vs. Pittsburgh in one play-in game and Southeast Missouri State vs. Texas A&M Corpus Christi in the other to jumpstart March Madness. Before you fill those NCAA Tournament brackets in, let's win some money for tonight's CBB DFS slate which also includes some NIT Tournament matchups on DraftKings. The DK slate has eight games while FanDuel only has the two First Four matchups to build CBB DFS lineups from. On DK, we have a high-scoring Toledo vs. Michigan matchup that'll be one to target.
If you're looking to play college basketball DFS this season, get full access to our CBB DFS Playbooks and Core Plays with a Fantasy Alarm All-Pro Subscription. If you have any questions about CBB daily fantasy lineup strategy, ask away in the Fantasy Alarm Discord chat. If you missed it, check out the top March Madness Final Four contenders and the Dark Horse Final Four college basketball teams ahead of the 2023 NCAA Tournament. Now, let's jump into the CBB DFS top plays and lineup picks for Tuesday's main slate on March 14th.
College Basketball CBB DFS Slate & Betting Odds March 14
(per DraftKings Sportsbook)
- 6:40 pm ET – SE Missouri State vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (-3.5) – 156 O/U
- 7 pm ET – Hofstra at Rutgers (-6) – 136.5 O/U
- 7 pm ET – Toledo at Michigan (-6) – 162.5 O/U
- 8:55 pm ET – Pittsburgh vs. Mississippi State (-2.5) – 132.5 O/U
- 9 pm ET – Villanova at Liberty (-2) – 138 O/U
- 9 pm ET – Yale at Vanderbilt (-3.5) – 147 O/U
- 9:30 pm ET – Bradley at Wisconsin (-3) – 127 O/U
- 11 pm ET – Seton Hall at Colorado (-4.5) – 137.5 O/U
CBB Top Projected Team Totals
(per KenPom.com)
- Michigan – 87
- Texas A&M-Corpus Christi – 81
- Toledo – 79
- Vanderbilt – 76
- SE Missouri St – 76
- Yale – 74
- Rutgers – 72
- Liberty – 72
- Colorado – 71
College Basketball CBB DFS Picks 3/14
CBB DFS Top Guards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Darius McGhee | LIB | VU | 8500 | 35.7 | ||
| McGhee is one of the best scoring guards in college basketball and we get to roster him at least one more time for DFS. He’s averaging a robust 26.3 PPG and 40 DK over the past 10 games with a monopoly on Liberty’s offensive production. His 33% usage rate and 32% shot share are both top-3 in the country. Facing Villanova is tougher than most matchups, but at least he benefits from playing at home for this NIT game. | ||||||
| RayJ Dennis | TOL | MICH | 8300 | 36.98 | ||
| Playing Michigan on the road is a slight worry, but Dennis is still good enough to fill up the stat sheet and produce like a DFS stud. The junior point guard headlines Toledo’s potent offense in a high-usage role with heavy shot volume every time out. Dennis is averaging 21.6 PPG and 39 DK over the past 10 games and he’s rarely posted less than 30 DK this season. This game should be pretty high-scoring as most Toledo games go and Dennis can still anchor cash or GPP lineups if his team loses. | ||||||
| Jordan Wright | VAND | YALE | 8100 | 22.33 | ||
| Wright has been Vandy’s clear alpha ever since Liam Robbins went out and he’s turned into a DFS stud in the process. The wing is averaging 18.4 PPG and 35 DK over the past five games since Robbins went out and he nearly led Vandy to an NCAA Tournament bid. Even with a price increase, Wright is definitely still in play and now gets a home matchup vs Yale. He just went for 43 DK last time out and looks pretty comfortable in his bigger role right now. | ||||||
| Kobe Bufkin | MICH | TOL | 7800 | 27.29 | ||
| With Michigan pushing for an NCAA Tournament bid, Bufkin ended the season strong and hopefully, he carries it into the NIT. He’s put up 30+ DK in four straight games and is averaging 17.1 PPG and 31 DK over the past 10 contests. Bufkin can stuff the stat sheet in multiple ways and score 20+ points for another strong DFS performance in an uptempo matchup with Toledo tonight. | ||||||
Also Consider:
- Phillip Russell – SEMO (Cash/GPP)
- Chris Harris – SEMO (GPP)
- Aaron Estrada – Hofstra (GPP)
CBB DFS Value Guards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Jalen Jackson | TA&MC | SEMO | 5900 | 17.1 | 5100 | 15.52 |
| Jackson stepped into a lead ball-handler and playmaking role for Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the conference title game after Terrion Murdix got hurt early. Jackson finished with 17 points, six assists, and 25 DK while taking 15 shots with a 40% usage rate. Murdix is out for the season now, so Jackson should be a big part of the offense again. Plus, this is a pace boost with SE Missouri St playing at the 7th-fastest tempo in the country. | ||||||
| Dug McDaniel | MICH | TOL | 5200 | 19.18 | ||
| If you want cheap exposure to the highest total on the slate, McDaniel is a great way to do it. The Wolverines’ freshman point guard gets a weird price decrease because he only had 10 DK last time out. McDaniel is still averaging 10.9 PPG and 21 DK over the past 10 games and he had at least 22-35 DK in four of the previous five games before that latest dud – which came against a good defensive Rutgers team. In a pace-boost and uptempo matchup, McDaniel should return value with upside for more. | ||||||
| Julian Hammond III | COL | SHU | 5000 | 13.79 | ||
| Hammond had been a huge value for us in the Pac-12 Tournament and that’s still the case now. He’s now put up 35, 30, and 29 DK in the past three games as Colorado’s starting point guard with KJ Simpson out for the season. Hammond is regularly taking double-digit shots in a higher-usage role now and simply shouldn’t be this cheap anymore. Expect him to be a chalky value tonight, especially since he plays in the late game. | ||||||
| Derek Simpson | RU | HOF | 4200 | 12.39 | ||
| Simpson moved into the Rutgers starting lineup during the Big Ten Tournament and responded with a pair of big games. He scored 18 and 13 points in the two games while taking 15+ shots and dropping 27 DK in both. With Simpson emerging as a promising freshman and a presumable key part of next year’s team, expect him to be starting again in this NIT matchup and maintaining heavy shot volume and usage. He's an excellent value tonight and should be popular. | ||||||
Also Consider:
- Dante Maddox Jr. – Toledo (Cash)
- Colin Porter – Liberty (Cash/GPP)
- Dashawn Davis – Mississippi State (Cash)
- Nike Sibande – Pittsburgh (GPP)
- Ethan Wright – Colorado (GPP)
CBB DFS Top Forwards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Hunter Dickinson | MICH | TOL | 9500 | 36.44 | ||
| Dickinson should have his way down low in this matchup against an undersized Toledo frontcourt and in a very favorable matchup. Toledo plays at a quick pace, is a poor defensive team (especially inside), and doesn’t rebound well. As for Dickinson, he’s averaging 19.9 points, 10.5 rebounds, and 41 DK over the past 10 games and ended the season strong with 48, 61, 56, and 41 DK in the past four games. The Michigan big man should dominate this matchup and will benefit more from playing at home. | ||||||
| Tolu Smith | MSST | PITT | 8800 | 31.1 | 8400 | 28.96 |
| Mississippi State will need to lean on its star to dominate inside if it wants to win this First Four matchup. Smith is certainly capable of taking over the game and he’ll have a talent advantage inside vs Pitt. He comes in averaging 17.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 33 DK over the past 10 games and has shown the ceiling for 40-45 DK at his best. If we get a ceiling performance tonight, Smith will be among the slate’s top performers. | ||||||
| Clifford Omoruyi | RU | HOF | 8200 | 31.86 | ||
| Hofstra is one of the worst rebounding teams in college basketball, so we should expect a double-double from Omoruyi and 30-40 DK in this matchup. The Rutgers big man should have his way in the paint and will benefit from playing this NIT matchup at home, where he’s averaging a double-double and 33 DK this season. The price tag is pretty nice and a bargain from where he’s been at recently. | ||||||
| Tristan da Silva | COL | SHU | 7600 | 27.32 | ||
| If you played CBB DFS this season, you know about da Silva’s home/road splits. The Colorado big is averaging 18.6 PPG and 31 DK at home but those numbers drop to 13.6 PPG and 23 DK on the road. Thankfully, tonight we get da Silva at home with Colorado hosting an NIT game. Facing Seton Hall’s solid defense is a slight worry, but da Silva offers plenty of upside at this price tag and he gives you exposure to the late game. | ||||||
Also Consider:
- Isaac Mushila – Texas A&M-CC (GPP)
- Blake Hinson – Pittsburgh (Cash/GPP)
- Matt Knowling – Yale (GPP)
CBB DFS Value Forwards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG | FD $ | FD FPPG |
| Owen Dease | TA&MC | SEMO | 4700 | 10.13 | 4800 | 9.38 |
| After Terrion Murdix got hurt early in Corpus Christi’s conference title game, Dease stepped into a much bigger role. He put up 16 points, seven rebounds, and 31 DK over 25 minutes off the bench. We could see Dease move into the starting lineup with Murdix out for the year, but he’ll likely still get plenty of playing time if he doesn’t start. At sub-5k in a pace boost and high total matchup, Dease is a great value and could be popular without many forward bargains. | ||||||
| Guillermo Diaz Graham | PITT | MSST | 3900 | 9.5 | 4200 | 8.94 |
| This is definitely a dart throw, but Guillermo Diaz Graham (not Jorge) is worth a look tonight. Pitt will likely need the 7-footer’s size tonight against Mississippi State’s Tolu Smith. The freshman has barely cracked the Pitt rotation for much of this season, but he did just log 28 minutes last time out vs Duke – another matchup that required Diaz Graham’s size. He had 14 points, eight rebounds, and 26 DK with the extended playing time and there’s a chance we see 20 DK or so again tonight. | ||||||
| Colin Smith | VAND | YALE | 3700 | 9.19 | ||
| We’ll see if this trend continues, but Smith started the last two games for Vandy in the SEC Tournament. The freshman put up 15 points and 21 DK across 27 minutes last time out and went 5-for-6 from three-point range. He doesn’t offer a great DFS floor and is a bit reliant on the three-point shooting, but Yale’s defense tends to allow a bunch of perimeter points anyway. Plus, Smith gets to play at home for this NIT tilt. | ||||||
Also Consider:
- Warren Williams – Hofstra (GPP)
- Tarris Reed – Michigan (GPP)
CBB DFS Core Plays
DraftKings Cash:
- Hunter Dickinson – Michigan
- RayJ Dennis – Toledo
- Julian Hammon – Colorado
DraftKings GPP:
- Tolu Smith – Mississippi State
- Jalen Jackson – Texas A&M Corpus Christi
- Derek Simpson – Rutgers
FanDuel Cash:
- Tolu Smith – Mississippi State
- Blake Hinson – Pittsburgh
- Jalen Jackson – Texas A&M Corpus Christi
FanDuel GPP:
- Phillip Russell – SEMO
- Nike Sibande – Pittsburgh
- Owen Dease – Texas A&M Corpus Christi
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