Welcome back to the start of another weekend of college basketball action as we dive into the top CBB DFS picks for Friday night. Six Top-25 teams are in action including No. 2 Kansas, No. 6 Marquette, No. 10 Baylor, No. 13 Illinois, No. 18 Clemson and No. 24 Wisconsin.  It's a 6-game slate on DraftKings and a 3-game slate on FanDuel so let's dive into all the top CBB DFS picks and value plays at the guard and forward positions tonight. All college basketball odds below are via DraftKings Sportsbook when publishing. Good luck with your college basketball DFS lineups for Friday, December 22nd.

 

College Basketball DFS Slate December 22, 2023

  • 7p ET Georgetown @ Marquette (-17.0) 150.5 O/U
  • 7p ET Winthrop @ Florida State (-8.5) 147.0 O/U
  • 8p ET Yale @ Kansas (-15.0) 142.5 O/U
  • 9p ET Illinois (-6.5) @ Missouri 150.5 O/U
  • 9p ET Maryland @ UCLA (-3.5) 130.0 O/U
  • 10p ET Colorado State (-5.0) @ Loyola-Marymount 148.5 O/U
     

Top CBB DFS Guards

Tyler Kolek- Marquette vs. Georgetown ($8.4K DK)

Tyler Kolek had to deal with Providence’s premier defender Devin Carter on Tuesday night. Carter did an awesome job and Kolek had to work for every point in Providence’s upset win over No. 6 Marquette. The stud guard still ended up with 39.3 DK points in what was considered an “off” game. So, what can we expect when the Golden Eagles and their 115.9 adjusted efficiency offense (No. 23) face off against Georgetown and their 107.5 adjusted efficiency offense? A lot of points and that means tons of dimes (35.6 assist rate) and fantasy goodness from the reigning Big East Player of the Year. With a 24.9% usage rate and 35.7 DK points over his last five games, Kolek is just too cheap as the top overall play in a fast-paced high-scoring game against one of the worst defenses in the nation.

Sean East II- Missouri vs. Illinois ($7.6K DK/6.9K FD)

Sean East II has taken the torch as the go-to guy at Missouri. Every college basketball team needs that one guy it can look at to get a bucket when it must have it. Kobe Brown was that player last year, and East II has emerged as that player this season. He has scored over 20 real points in three of his last four games and carries a 23.9% usage and 24.5% assist rate on the season. East II has emerged as the team leader and is playing a much more physical brand of basketball this season and—perhaps more importantly—is playing with visible confidence on the floor. Not a bad price for a player averaging 4X over his last five games.

Nique Clifford- Colorado State @ Loyola-Marymount ($7.4K DK)

Nique Clifford seems to have made the right move transferring to Colorado State in Fort Collins from Colorado. Clifford played three seasons in Boulder before transferring north to join Coach Niko Medved's squad. He is shooting a solid 56.2% from the field including 50.0% from behind the arc on his way to averaging 12.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. He just missed out on back-to-back double-doubles with 13 points and nine rebounds against CSU-Pueblo and now gets a pace up game against Loyola-Marymount. This is more of a GPP “gut call” type play, but Clifford has been flying right under the radar and now has 30+ DK in three straight games and there is no reason to not expect another 5X performance tonight.

Other Top CBB DFS Guards:

  • Kevin McCullar Jr, Kansas ($9.2K DK/8.7K FD)- McCullar is the 1A as top overall guard with Kolek tonight. I just like the Marquette game environment a little better. 
  • Isaiah Stevens, Colorado ($8.0K DK)- Stevens has been under 30 DK just once since 11/22, Stevens may see some lower ownership due to Kolek, McCullar Jr and Jahmir Young being on the slate.
  • Terrence Shannon Jr, Illinois ($7.7K DK/7.9K FD)- Shannon could easily be the highest scoring guard of this slate. 
  • Jahmir Young, Maryland ($8.2K DK/7.8K FD)
  • Sebastian Mack, UCLA ($7.2K DK/6.6K FD)
  • Kam Jones, Marquette ($7.1K DK)
  • Darin Green Jr., Florida State ($6.6K DK)
     

Top CBB DFS Value Guard

Quincy Guerrier- Illinois @ Missouri ($5.6K DK)

As an avid Syracuse fan, I am well aware of Quincy Guerrier and still wish he was in orange. After two seasons in central New York, he went to Oregon for another two and now ended up in Champaign.  Guerrier has not only been solid for Illinois this season, but he has also been the backbone for the program and may end up as one of the best Brad Underwood finds in the portal era. He just smoked Colgate, finishing with 15 points, seven rebounds, and one steal (26.3 DK). Over the last six games, Guerrier is averaging 11.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game as well and that includes a dud against FAU. The dynamic ability of Guerrier has been incredible for the Illini, and he could be the missing link- an athletic guard/forward who can play multiple roles and is efficient in scoring the basketball. With an average of over seven rebounds a game Guerrier gets to face a Missouri frontcourt that currently holds a horrible 33.9% defensive rebound rate, which is ranked 317th in the entire nation. Lock Guerrier in your main lineup as a top value that is guard/forward eligible. 

Other Top CBB DFS Guard Values

  • Nick Honor, Missouri ($5.6K DK/5.4K FD)- Honor is shooting 45% from beyond the arc.
  • Ty Rodgers G/F, Illinois ($4.7K DK/4.8K FD)
  • Chase Ross, Marquette ($5.4K DK)
  • Elmarko Jackson, Kansas ($4.6K DK/4.5K FD)
     

CBB DFS Top Forwards

Hunter Dickinson, Kansas vs. Yale ($10.1K DK/9.3K FD)

During this past offseason, Hunter Dickinson became one of the best college basketball players to ever enter the transfer portal. The former Michigan stud ended up in Lawrence, KS over Kentucky and Villanova. So far this season Dickinson has averaged 19.4 points, 12.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists, and 1.3 blocks and is No. 8 in the KenPom Player of the Year rankings. With a 24% usage/27.1% shot rate and a 43.2% combined rebound rate (his 30.5% offensive is No. 4 in the country) it's safe to say that he has lived up to his hefty expectations, if not exceeded them. Dickinson will not come cheap, but he is the top overall play of the slate against a Yale team that he will dominate.

Oso Ighodaro- Marquette vs. Georgetown ($7.1K DK)

Oso Ighodaro is the linchpin to the most aesthetically pleasing offense in college basketball. Ighodaro’s numbers are slightly up this season — he’s averaging 13.7 points and 6.2 rebounds after putting up 11.4 and 5.9 as a junior. He’s also proving himself when it matters.  All you had to do was watch how Ighodaro rolled through the elite bigs in Maui to appreciate the player that he is.  At the Maui Invitational, he had 21 points and nine rebounds in a win against Kansas, outplaying Jayhawks All-American Hunter Dickinson and then scored 16 points on 8-of-10 shooting in a close loss to Zach Edey and Purdue despite serious foul trouble. (The Golden Eagles were plus-10 in Ighodaro’s 26 minutes on the floor). With a 26.5 DK point average over his last five games run with Oso Ighodaro in a pace up against Georgetown and their 270th ranked offensive rebounding (32.2%) front court. 

Alex Merkviladze- Loyola Marymount vs. Colorado State ($6.5K DK)

Alex Merkviladze is arguably the top point per dollar forward on the slate. The senior forward is the primary scorer for the Lions with a 21.7% usage/22.8% shot rate to go along with a solid 21.4% defensive rebounding rate. He has now scored 26+ DK points in four of his last five games with three of them being 30+ DK. Tonight he will be facing Colorado State, a team that gets bullied on their offensive glass to the tune of a 22.8% rate (339th in the nation). I’m calling it now, Alex Merkviladze posts the first double-double of his career tonight in Fort Collins.  

Other Top CBB DFS Forwards

  • Danny Wolf, Yale ($7.8K DK/7.5K FD)- Wolf is averaging 35 DK over his last five games but has his hands full with Hunter Dickinson tonight. GPP only.
  • Jamir Watkins, Florida State ($7.4K DK)
  • KJ Adams, Kansas ($7.3K DK/6.5K FD)- Adams has scored over 22 DK points in every game since 11/22.
  • Adem Bona, UCLA ($6.7K DK/6.2K FD)- Bona has a 26% usage rate over his last five games while pulling down 6.4 rebounds in the same span. 
  • Coleman Hawkins, Illinois ($6.2K DK/5.7K FD)- Hawkins has progressively scored more points in each game over his last four- 19, 23, 28 and 31 DK. Nice price. 

 

Top CBB DFS Forward Values

Note: Forward Value is lacking today, and no one stands out as a clear Must-Play. Here are a few that can be used in your lineups:

  • Patrick Cartier, Colorado State ($5.9K DK)- Cartier takes 27% of the shots when he is on the floor.
  • David Joplin, Marquette ($3.9K DK)- Joplin’s price has dropped $1.5K DK over the last couple of weeks but still has a 12-15 DK point floor. With very few value plays at forward Joplin could easily be a main lineup dart tonight.
  • Luke Goode, Illinois ($4.9K DK)- Goode plays around 20 minutes with a 20 DK point ceiling.
  • Ty Rodgers G/F, Illinois ($4.7K DK)

 

DraftKings Core

  • David Joplin, Marquette (Value)
  • Tyler Kolek, Marquette
  • Oso Igohardo, Marquette
     

FanDuel Core

  • Sean East II, Missouri
  • Quincy Guerrier, Illinois
  • Kevin McCullar Jr, Kansas