We have another full slate of college basketball games on Tuesday night and it's time to dive into the CBB DFS picks and top plays! A pair of Top 10 matchups headline the slate, featuring Kansas vs Kansas State and Texas vs Iowa State. Other top college basketball teams like Houston, Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Creighton are all in action tonight too. You can build CBB DFS lineups tonight on DraftKings for the 11-game main slate tipping off at 6:30 pm ET. 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. Check out all the CBB DFS top picks, lineup strategies, teams to target, and value plays to lock in for tonight's college basketball action. 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 top plays and lineup picks for Tuesday, January 17th.
College Basketball CBB DFS Slate & Betting Odds January 17
(via DraftKings Sportsbook)
- 6:30 pm ET – Ole Miss (-5.5) at South Carolina – 130 O/U
- 7 pm ET – Tennessee (-6) at Mississippi State – 123 O/U
- 7 pm ET – Creighton (-7) at Butler – 139.5 O/U
- 7 pm ET – Boston College at North Carolina (-14) – 143.5 O/U
- 7 pm ET – Florida State at Notre Dame (-4.5) – 141 O/U
- 7 pm ET – NC State (-6) at Georgia Tech – 143.5 O/U
- 7 pm ET – Kansas (-1.5) at Kansas State – 147 O/U
- 7 pm ET – Houston (-11) at Tulane – 146 O/U
- 8 pm ET – Texas at Iowa State (-2.5) – 130.5 O/U
- 8:30 pm ET – Alabama (-8.5) at Vanderbilt – 155.5 O/U
- 8:30 pm ET – Penn State at Wisconsin (-3.5) – 129.5 O/U
CBB Top Team Totals
(via KenPom.com)
- Alabama – 82
- North Carolina – 79
- Houston – 78
- Kansas – 75
- Notre Dame – 75
- NC State – 74
- Kansas State – 73
- Creighton – 72
- Vanderbilt – 72
- Florida State – 70
College Basketball CBB DFS Top Plays 1/17
CBB DFS Top Guards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG |
| Markquis Nowell | KSU | KU | 10400 | 38.21 |
| Nowell will surely go lower-rostered tonight with this season-high price tag and in a tough matchup vs Kansas. He’s also coming off a “down” performance on Saturday with “only” 16 points and 26 DK. Still, we’ve seen Nowell’s ceiling over the past month and the Kansas State point guard has proven upside of 20+ points, 10+ assists, and 50+ DK in any given game. On the national stage vs Kansas, don’t be surprised if Nowell goes off again. | ||||
| Matthew Cleveland | FSU | ND | 9000 | 29.22 |
| Cleveland doesn’t get the national praise as other top players because he plays on lowly Florida State. Even so, he’s been a DFS stud lately with heavy usage, shot volume, and the playmaking freedom to lead a struggling Seminoles squad. Plus, he’s rebounding at an astounding clip with 10+ boards in seven straight and averaging 16.9 points, 10.3 rebounds, and 36 DK over the past 10 contests. He had 43 DK vs Notre Dame in the first meeting this season and should anchor cash lineups once again. | ||||
| Marcus Sasser | UH | TUL | 7800 | 29.22 |
| Sasser would be in play anyway, but tonight he and Houston get a major pace-boost matchup vs Tulane. The road environment shouldn’t scare us away and Sasser’s sub-8k price is actually a bargain when compared to other top-priced players on this slate. He had 31 points and 42 DK last time out and now has 32+ DK in four straight vs AAC competition. Expect Sasser to be popular in all formats tonight. | ||||
| Gabe Kalscheur | ISU | UT | 7400 | 22.88 |
| Kalscheur continues to light up the scoreboard after dropping 23 points and 34 DK on Saturday vs Kansas. Maybe he drops off at some point, but it’s impossible to ignore the hot streak. Kalscheur has 30+ DK in four of the past five games since Aljaz Kunc went out. Even in a tough matchup vs Texas tonight, the GPP upside for another 20+ points scored and 30-35 DK is obviously there as he's taken on a ton of shot volume and a larger scoring role in Kunc's absence. | ||||
| Gradey Dick | KU | KSU | 7200 | 28.19 |
| If you don’t want to pay all the way up for Jalen Wilson, pivoting down to Gradey Dick or Kevin McCullar is also a cheaper way to possibly get 30+ DK points from a Kansas player in this high-total matchup vs K-State. As for Dick, he’s been playing well lately with a 30 DK average over the past 10 games and scoring 21 points with 36 DK on Saturday. He’s also gotten it done on the road, which is impressive for any freshman. | ||||
Also Consider:
- Baylor Scheierman – Creighton (Cash)
- Marcus Carr – Texas (GPP)
- Caleb Love – North Carolina (GPP)
CBB DFS Value Guards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG |
| Ali Ali | BUTLE | CRE | 5400 | 14.94 |
| Since moving into Butler’s starting lineup, Ali has 24 and 21 DK in the past two games with 30+ minutes played in both starts. His DFS cash floor has increased now that he’s in a larger role and filling the stat sheet in multiple ways. Now Butler gets a pace-boost vs Creighton, which gives Ali the chance at 20-25 DK for a third straight. | ||||
| Deivon Smith | GT | NCST | 5200 | 23.31 |
| Smith is coming off of two monster performances of 41 and 31 DK where he recorded a double-double with an uptick of shot volume in both. He’s also put up 20+ DK in four straight games despite still coming off the bench for Georgia Tech. This recent hot streak puts him firmly on our radar tonight in a major pace-boost spot vs NC State. Still, limit it to GPP lineups because his playing time and offensive role have fluctuated a lot this season. | ||||
| Jaden Bradley | BAMA | VAND | 4400 | 18.4 |
| Bradley continues to be a solid cash value as long as he’s priced this low. The freshman is doing just enough across the board as Alabama’s starting point guard while Nimari Burnett remains out. He has at least 16 DK in nine straight games and we’ll take that floor all day for this cheap salary. | ||||
| Amaree Abram | MISS | SCAR | 4400 | 14.85 |
| Abram moved back into the Ole Miss starting lineup on Saturday and put up 12 points, five assists, and 23 DK across 30 minutes. Abram especially benefited from Daeshun Ruffin being out last game, which will be the case again tonight. Ruffin’s absence makes Abram a great value under 5k with more minutes at point guard available. The freshman actually has a 28% usage rate and 31% shot rate during conference play, trailing only Ruffin for the team lead. | ||||
| Zachary Davis | SCAR | MISS | 3200 | 7.48 |
| Keep an eye on the status of Hayden Brown tonight. If he’s out like last game, then Davis gets bumped up as a great value play. Davis started on Saturday with Brown out and he led South Carolina in scoring with 13 points in 22 minutes vs Texas A&M. He’s put up double-digit DFS points at times this season when given more playing time, so a starting role clearly puts him in play at this dirt cheap price. | ||||
Also Consider:
- Tamin Lipsey – Iowa State (GPP)
- Sir'Jabari Rice – Texas (Cash)
- Jalen Warley – Florida State (Cash)
CBB DFS Top Forwards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG |
| Brandon Miller | BAMA | VAND | 9600 | 36.59 |
| Miller is now at a season-high price tag thanks to his 31 points, 46 DK, and 7-for-11 three-point shooting on Saturday. People may shy away because of the elevated price tag, but we’ve gotten a glimpse of his 40+ DK upside multiple times this season now. Plus, the floor is regularly in the 30-35 DK range with his high usage and heavy shot volume, not to mention the rebounding and other ancillary stats. Tonight’s matchup vs Vandy shouldn’t slow him down. | ||||
| Jalen Wilson | KU | KSU | 9300 | 38.34 |
| Rostering Jalen Wilson in cash lineups has become as trustworthy as it gets in DFS CBB this season. After posting 38 DK last game, he’s now averaging 17.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 35 DK over the past 10 games and has put up at least 31 DK in all but two contests this year. On the road at Kansas State shouldn’t scare us away from locking him into cash lineups for the sure thing. This game is also one of the highest totals on the slate. | ||||
| Ryan Kalkbrenner | CRE | BUTLE | 8200 | 31.08 |
| Kalkbrenner had 19 points and 33 DK vs Butler in the first meeting back in December. He took advantage of Butler’s weaker rebounding and interior defense, which may be amplified even more tonight if Manny Bates sits out again. Kalkbrenner would have a massive size and talent advantage down low if Bates is out, but he had those previous numbers with Bates playing anyway. Kalkbrenner also has 36+ DK in three of the last four and is pretty affordable at $8200 compared to other top forwards. | ||||
| Jarace Walker | UH | TUL | 7000 | 24.29 |
| Walker is expected to play tonight after sitting the last game out with an illness. Assuming the talented freshman is starting with his normal role, there’s a ton of GPP upside at this 7k price tag. Walker has 42 and 33 DK in his last two games with 20+ points scored in both. Of course, it’s risky because he does have some dud outings in the past month and isn’t always performing like the DFS stud we’d like. In a pace-boost vs Tulane tonight, don’t be surprised if Walker goes off for 30-40 DK and smashes value. | ||||
Also Consider:
- Armando Bacot – North Carolina (GPP)
- Keyontae Johnson – Kansas State (Cash/GPP)
- Nate Laszewski – Notre Dame (Cash)
CBB DFS Value Forwards
| Player | Team | Opp. | DK $ | DK FPPG |
| Greg Gantt | NCST | GT | 4900 | 11.44 |
| Gantt has put up 21, 19, and 18 DK over the past three games since entering NC State’s starting lineup. The big man still isn’t involved much offensively, but he’s doing just enough as a rebounder and in defensive stats. The new starting role with Jack Clark out has at least raised his DFS floor to a cash level. Georgia Tech isn’t a great rebounding team and the path to Gantt as a solid cash value is there again at this sub-5k price tag. | ||||
| Osun Osunniyi | ISU | UT | 4300 | 16.95 |
| Despite putting up 29 DK on Saturday with 14 points, six rebounds, and three blocks vs Kansas, we still get Osunniyi at a great price today. His DFS and real-life production have been very up-and-down this season, but the Iowa State center is playing better over the past few weeks. He has at least 19 DK in three of the past four games and should probably be priced at 5k or so now. The 5x GPP upside is there tonight. | ||||
| Uros Plavsic | TENN | MSST | 4100 | 15.03 |
| Plavsic doesn’t normally get a ton of playing time in Tennessee’s deep rotation, but he’s now posted 25+ DK in back-to-back games after his season-high 19 points on Saturday vs Kentucky. Even in limited playing time, Plavsic has the talent to be a force in the paint and he’s averaging 18 DK in just 16 minutes per game over the past 10 contests. He had 16 DK vs Mississippi State earlier this month and Tennessee will likely need his size to combat Tolu Smith on the other side. The potential 5x value in cash or GPP isn’t bad at this cheap price. | ||||
| Cameron Corhen | FSU | ND | 3900 | 13.38 |
| Corhen is a really good bargain below 4k as a regular starter for Florida State who’s played 30+ minutes in three of the last five games with 20+ DK in two of those. One of those recent performances was 18 points, seven rebounds, and 29 DK vs Notre Dame earlier this month in the teams’ first meeting. He can easily replicate those numbers against an Irish squad that has a poor interior defense, is bad on the offensive boards, and has the worst defense in the ACC. | ||||
Also Consider:
- Jalen Thomas – Butler (GPP if Bates is out)
- Myles Stute – Vanderbilt (GPP)
- Robert Jones – Iowa State (Cash)
CBB DFS Core Plays
DK Cash:
- Marcus Sasser – Houston
- Matthew Cleveland – Florida State
- Ali Ali – Butler
- Greg Gantt – NC State
DK GPP:
- Markquis Nowell – Kansas State
- Jarace Walker – Houston
- Deivon Smith – Georgia Tech
- Zachary Davis – South Carolina
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