Happy holidays and welcome back to another weekend of college basketball action as we dive into top CBB DFS picks for Saturday. The marquee game of the slate is a Big East battle pitting two Top-25 teams as No. 22 Creighton travels to No. 10 Marquette. Hunter Dickinson and No. 2 Kansas will also be in action as well Joel Soriano and St. John’s and Judah Mintz of Syracuse.   It's a nine-game slate on DraftKings while FanDuel has a five-game slate. Let's dive into all the top CBB DFS picks and value plays at the guard and forward positions today. All college basketball odds below are via DraftKings Sportsbook when publishing. Good luck with your college basketball DFS lineups today!

 

College Basketball DFS Slate December 30, 2023

12p ET Hofstra @ St. John’s (-9.0) 150.5 O/U

12p ET Virginia (-9.0) @ Notre Dame 117.5 O/U

12p ET Pittsburgh @ Syracuse (-1.5) 148.5 O/U

2p ET Virginia Tech @ Wake Forest (-4.0) 144.5 O/U

2p ET Liberty @ Alabama (-9.5) 154.0 O/U

2p ET Indiana State @ Michigan State (-9.00 151.0 O/U

2p ET Creighton @ Marquette (-4.00 152.0 O/U

4p ET Wichita State @ Kansas (-13.00 146.0 O/U

4p ET UCLA @ Oregon (-7.5) 136.5 O/U

 

Top CBB DFS Guards

Mark Sears - Alabama vs. Liberty ($7.9K DK)

Mark Sears leads the SEC in scoring at 19.6 ppg and maybe more importantly he’s fourth in the SEC in field goal percentage (53.5%) and leading one of the best offenses in the country. He has put the nation on alert that he is Alabama’s motor and of all players who have been used in at least 20% of possessions, he leads the SEC in offensive rating on Kenpom. He’s also fifth in the SEC in fouls drawn per 40 minutes (6.0 FD/40) and ninth in free throw rate. With a 25.6% usage/25.4% shot rate and a 35.0 DK point average over his last five Mark Sears is just too cheap as the top offensive weapon on the team with the highest implied total of the slate (81.75 points). 

Darlinstone Dubar - Hofstra @ St. John’s ($7.2K DK)

It was exactly one month ago when we introduced Darlinstone Dunbar to you in this Fantasy Alarm Playbook as Hofstra was getting ready to play USF. He started a string of three straight double-doubles that night and has scored in double figures every game this season so far. Dubar had also exploded for a career high 30 points in win over Buffalo as this is a player who went from a little used freshman forward at Iowa State to a key guard/forward at Hofstra. He became the first Hofstra player to score 30 or more points since Aaron Estrada did last January against Elon University and has just continued to roll with a 32.9 DK point average over his last five games. Today we got a major pace up game here between two fast teams and Dubar, a stat sheet stuffer will be the first piece taken. 

Daniss Jenkins - St. John’s vs. Hofstra ($6.6K DK)

Point guard Daniss Jenkins, who followed Rick Pitino to St. John’s after winning the MAAC Championship’s most outstanding performer award at Hofstra, is one of my top plays in a major pace up game today against Hofstra. Jenkins leads the team with a 25.3% usage/25.2% shot rate along with an outstanding 35.4% assist rate which is good for 28th in the nation. He is coming off a tough game against UConn where he struggled with his shot, but Jenkins plays nearly every minute and is in a perfect get right spot.

Other Top CBB DFS Guards

  • Kevin McCullar Jr., Kansas ($9.9K DK/9.0K FD)
  • Tyler Kolek, Marquette ($8.8K DK/8.4K FD)
  • Judiah Mintz, Syracuse ($8.6K DK/8.3K FD)
  • Reece Beekman, Virginia ($8.4K DK/8.1K FD)
  • AJ Hoggard, Michigan State ($7.4K DK)
  • Isaiah Swope, Indiana State (6.7K DK)
  • Quadir Copeland, Syracuse ($6.2K DK/8,1K FD)

 

Top CBB DFS Value Guard

RJ Luis - St. John’s vs. Hofstra ($5.1K DK)

RJ Luis has appeared in just two games all season, a fractured left hand and stress reaction to his left shin costing him much of the last three months. He finally returned last Saturday in their loss to No. 5 UConn and played more than was planned, logging 18 minutes. Now with Chris Ledlum expected to miss today’s game with a sprained ankle, keeping Luis on the court may be a priority. In two games, Luis has shown his potential, averaging 10 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals. He is athletic and one of the best athletes on the team and may be used more as a small-ball power forward with Ledlum out. If RJ Luis starts today, he will be in my main lineup. 

Other Top CBB DFS Value Guards

  • Chase Ross, Marquette ($5.4K DK/5.1K FD)
  • Joseph Venzant, Liberty ($5.0K DK)
  • Jayson Kent G/F, Indiana State ($4.8K DK) - Kent plays 30+ minutes which is what we look for in these sub $5K value plays. His usage rate is low but plays enough to average 24.5 DK over his last five games and becomes a top value if Luis does not start for St. John’s. 
  • Tre Holloman, Michigan State ($4.7K DK) - Holloman is a real sneaky GPP play as he continues to get an uptick in usage. He has 22+ DK in two of his last three games. 
  • Nahiem Alleyne, St. John’s ($4.1K DK)
  • Bijan Cortes, Wichita State ($3.2K DK/4.6K FD) - Cortes just played his first game of the season and played 24 minutes, not too bad for this price.

 

Top CBB DFS Forwards

Joel Soriano - St. John’s vs. Hofstra ($9.4K DK)

Joel Soriano just continues to roll through the early part of the college season. As Big East play begins. The Johnnies' big man averaged 16.0 points, 12.5 rebounds and 4.5 blocks against Xavier and No. 5 UConn in his last two games. Soriano opened Big East play with an 18-point, 14-board double-double in an 81-66 rout of the Musketeers and followed that up with a 14-point, 11-rebound effort against the fifth-ranked Huskies Soriano has scored double figures in all 12 games this season as he is averaging 17.7 points per game. He also ranks top-10 in the nation averaging 4.5 offensive boards (3rd) and 10.8 rebounds (7th) per game. Do you need any more? Joel Soriano is in a smash spot in a high scoring game, but he will not come cheap. 

Blake Hinson - Pittsburgh @ Syracuse ($7.3K DK/7.4K FD)

It seems like forever that we have been attacking the Syracuse zone with the opposing high post player in DFS. The trend continues today with Pittsburgh senior and team leader Blake Hinson. Hinson leads the ACC and is second in the nation in made 3-pointers (45). He also is third in long-range shooting percentage (45.9%) and one of three players in the conference averaging at least 20 points per game (20.3)- along with RJ Davis of North Carolina (21.6) and PJ Hall from Clemson (20.5). The 20.3 scoring average is good enough for 17th nationally and Hinson could very well see that average rise after a big day torching the Orange zone. 

Oso Ighodaro - Marquette vs. Creighton ($6.7K DK/7.1K FD)

Oso Ighodaro continues to be a cornerstone of one of the most exciting offenses in college basketball. Ighodaro is averaging 13.5 points and 6.0 rebounds and when it really matters, he shines as we saw in the Maui Invitational.  At the Maui 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. He is averaging 25.7 DK over his last five games and is now at his lowest price point of the season after a couple of subpar games against Providence and Georgetown where he only put up 21.5 and 20.0 DK points. Bounce back spot here for Oso Ighodaro with an awesome price.

Other Top CBB DFS Forwards

  • Hunter Dickinson, Kansas ($9.5K DK/8.9K FD)
  • Kwame Evans Jr., Oregon ($8.5K DK/6.6K FD)
  • Lynn Kidd, Virginia Tech ($8.1K DK)
  • Zach Cleveland, Liberty ($7.2K DK)- Sneaky GPP play.
  • Grant Nelson, Alabama ($6.9K DK)
  • Adem Bona, UCLA ($7.0K DK/6.0K FD)
  • KJ Adams, Kansas ($6.8K DK/6.3K FD)- Adams Jr. is too cheap on FanDuel.

Top CBB DFS Forward Value Plays

  • Jayson Kent G/F, Indiana State ($4.8K DK) - Kent plays 30+ minutes which is what we look for in these sub $5K value plays. His usage rate is low but plays enough to average 24.5 DK over his last five games.
  • Efton Reid III, Wake Forest ($5.7K DK) - Reid III is now starting and he crushed in his first game with a 33.5 DK performance in 33 minutes. If he continues to start, he is the top forward value today.
  • Guillermo Diaz Graham. Pittsburgh ($5.8K DK/5.6K FD) - Diaz Graham has now started the last two games and has been over 30 DK in both (30.5 and 37.0). Now he gets a smash spot against Syracuse. 
  • Glenn Taylor Jr., St. John’s ($4.4K DK) - Taylor continues to start and even though the results have been mediocre he gets a big-time pace up today against Hofstra. 

 

DRAFTKINGS CORE

Mark Sears - Alabama

Daniss Jenkins - St. John’s

Blake Hinson - Pittsburgh

 

FANDUEL CORE

Blake Hinson - Pittsburgh

KJ Adams Jr. - Kansas

Kwame Evans Jr. - Oregon