The 2023 NCAA Tournament is in full swing as we enter the first night of the Elite Eight with two awesome games on tap tonight. As we build CBB DFS lineups let’s going to dive into the top March Madness CBB DFS picks, value plays, and games to target for Saturday’s slate. The first game locks at 6:09 pm ET with Kansas State facing surprising Florida Atlantic while Connecticut gets to play Gonzaga in the 8:49pm ET hammer game. You can build CBB DFS lineups on both DraftKings and FanDuel for the two-game slate. 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. Now, let's jump into the CBB DFS picks and top plays for Saturday, March 25th.

 

COLLEGE BASKETBALL DFS ELITE EIGHT SATURDAY ODDS

6:09pm ET Florida Atlantic @ Kansas State (-2.0) 144.5 O/U

8:49pm ET Connecticut (-2.0) @ Gonzaga 153.5 O/U 

 

IMPLIED TEAM POINTS

Connecticut 77.75

Gonzaga 75.75

Kansas State 73.25

Florida Atlantic 71.25

 

TOP CBB DFS GUARDS

Markquis Nowell - Kansas State vs. FAU ($9.6K DK/$9.8K FD)

Stars are made in March and Markquis Nowell took center stage on Thursday in Madison Square Garden. In an amazing, back-and-forth Sweet 16 overtime thriller, Nowell battled through an apparent lower-body injury to score 20 points and dish out 19 assists to help the No. 3 Wildcats defeat No. 7 Michigan State 98-93 in overtime to reach the Elite Eight. His 19 assists set a new NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament record, breaking the previous mark of 18 set by UNLV guard Mark Wade in the 1987 Final Four against Indiana. You should be focused on GPP’s in two game slates and try to be a little different than the field, but Nowell is a plug and play with the highest ceiling of the night.

 

Jordan Hawkins - Connecticut @ Gonzaga ($6.3K DK/$5.9K FD)

With stat stuffing UCONN guard Andre Hawkins being a popular play tonight I will be pivoting to his teammate, sophomore guard Jordan Hawkins, a strong shooter and potential first-round NBA Draft pick. Hawkins is heating up as the tournament goes along, which bodes well for the Huskies. After a slow start and some fouls in the Iona game he got hot in the second half and finished with 13 points after nailing a few timely three-pointers. Hawkins then erupted for 24 points (32 DKFP) and even had some peripherals (two rebounds and three assists) against Arkansas. He has knocked down 10-of-21 from beyond the arc in the tourney and if this trend continues, Hawkins could be in line for a monster performance against Gonzaga. The Bulldogs are not the greatest at defending the three, ranking 249th in the nation at 34.8 % so I will continue to live or die with Jordan Hawkins as one of my top DFS guards in the tournament.  

OTHER TOP GUARDS

  • Tristan Newton, Connecticut ($6.2K DK/$5.6K FD)
  • Julian Strawther, Gonzaga ($7.8K DK/$6.7K FD)
  • Johnell Davis, Florida Atlantic ($7.5K DK/$6.1K FD)
  • Andre Jackson Jr, Connecticut ($6.8K DK/$6.4K FD)

 

TOP CBB DFS VALUE GUARD

Malachi Smith - Gonzaga vs. Connecticut ($4.3K DK/$4.4K FD)

Before this season, Malachi Smith had just one taste of March Madness as he and his Chattanooga teammates experienced a heartbreaking one-point loss to No. 4-seeded Illinois in the first round of the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Smith has adapted quite well to his role in Gonzaga. After being a starter the last two years at Chattanooga and being named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in 2021-2022, he’s come off the bench for all but one game for the Bulldogs as a point guard energy provider. Smith shot an incredible 49.4% from beyond the arc in the regular season as it earned him the West Coast Conference Sixth Man of the year Award. Now he is one win away from the Final Four after scoring 14 points off the bench on Thursday against UCLA.

OTHER VALUE GUARDS

  • Cam Carter, Kanas State ($4.5K DK/$4.4K FD)
  • Bryan Greenlee, Florida Atlantic ($4.2K DK/$3.9K FD)
  • Joey Calcaterra, Connecticut ($3.3K DK/$3.6K FD)
  • Rasir Bolton, Gonzaga ($5.0K DK/$4.6K FD)
  • Nolan Hickman, Gonzaga ($5.1K DK/$4.8K FD)

 

TOP CBB DFS FORWARDS

Drew Timme - Gonzaga vs. Connecticut ($9.1K DK/$8.9K FD)

In a 36-point (62 DKFP) dominant effort against UCLA, Drew Timme smashed. He consistently won one-on-one battles in the post, freezing defenders with patience and now an Elite 8 matchup against big Adama Sanogo of Connecticut represents a key test for Timme, to show scouts that he can still score against anyone NBA-style. Elite players shine March and Drew Timme, with his 30.6% usage, 28.3% shot, and 28% rebound rates is by the far the top overall play at forward tonight. Timme is doing his best to not let his legend die and now gets one more game but the question will be whether you can afford him or not. 

 

Anton Watson - Gonzaga vs. Connecticut ($8.0K DK/$7.2K FD)

Anton Watson had a successful senior season but is playing with a chip on his shoulder after the West Coast Conference didn’t select him for the first or second 2022-23 All-WCC teams. He has now taken his game to another level in March and shows no signs of slowing down. He has 33+ DKFP in every game this month except for the UCLA Sweet 16 game (24 DKFP) and continues to now play over 30 minutes. Per The Athletic, Watson leads Gonzaga in steals (66), defensive Win Shares (1.8), and defensive box score plus-minus (3.5). His 82 offensive rebounds (10.2%) are only five fewer than star teammate Drew Timme and Watson has shot better that Timme with a 66.8% field goal rate compared to Timme’s 64.7%. Watson, in fact, led the West Coast Conference in shooting (64.8%) during conference play and is two points shy of having three straight double-doubles in the postseason. If Drew Timme is not in your lineup then Anton Watson is a must play. 

OTHER TOP FORWARDS

Keyontae Johnson, Kansas State ($8.1K DK)

Adama Sanogo, Connectict ($7.9K DK)

Nae’Qwan Tomlin, Kansas State ($6.5K DK)

 

TOP CBB DFS VALUE FORWARD

Vladislav Goldin - Florida Atlantic @ Kansas State ($5.6K DK/$4.8K FD)

Vladislav Goldin, a sophomore big man from Russia, is putting up a team-leading 6.4 rebounds per contest while also averaging 10.2 points (third on the team). He is 7-foot-1 and is crucial tonight in providing much needed size against Kansas State at the Garden. The numbers aren’t everything in Goldin’s case because his presence defensively adds a whole new layer to the FAU attack. He has 41 blocks on the season which makes opponents hesitant to challenge him at the rim. One concern is that teams are consistently trying to get him into foul trouble (4.7 FC/40) to throw off the Owls rotation but if he can keep his hands to himself this becomes one of the toughest defenses in the country.

OTHER VALUE FORWARDS

  • Donovan Clingan, Connecticut ($4.8K DK/$4.6K FD)
  • Giancarlo Rosado, Florida Atlantic ($4.6K DK/$4.4K FD) * sneaky GPP play if you think Goldin gets into foul trouble.
  • Ismael Massoud, Kansas State ($4.0K DK/$4.0K FD)

 

DRAFTKINGS CORE

Markquis Nowell- Kansas State

Andre Hawkins- Connecticut

Vladislav Goldin- Florida Atlantic

 

FANDUEL CORE

Drew Timme- Gonzaga

Andre Hawkins- Connecticut

Vladislav Goldin- Florida Atlantic

 

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